Epstein scandal: King Charles strips brother Andrew of his title of "prince"

2025-10-31 07:41:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Epstein scandal: King Charles strips brother Andrew of his title of

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor

Prince Andrew has been stripped of his title of "prince" and will move out of his Windsor residence, Royal Lodge, after weeks of scrutiny over his links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement Thursday evening, Buckingham Palace said the King's brother will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. Andrew's two adult daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice, will retain their titles as princesses, and Andrew is still eighth in line to the throne.

Meanwhile, Sarah Ferguson, his ex-wife, will also leave the Royal Lodge and earn her own living. Andrew gave up his other royal titles earlier this month after facing more questions about his private life.

In his statement, Andrew will move to a private residence on the Sandringham Estate, which is understood to be privately funded by King Charles.

The removal of Andrew's titles ends weeks of mounting pressure on the Royal Family. The scandal over his links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was reignited by allegations of sexual abuse in the memoirs of Virginia Giuffre, who in a posthumous publication repeated allegations that as a teenager she had sex with Prince Andrew on three separate occasions.

While Andrew has always vehemently denied abusing Ms. Giuffre, earlier this month, emails from 2011 resurfaced, showing Andrew in contact with Epstein months after he claimed their friendship had ended. Details about Andrew's lifestyle have also been under scrutiny, with fresh questions being raised in recent days about how he is able to finance his lifestyle despite not being a working member of the royal family.

Andrew has lived at Royal Lodge since 2004, having signed a 75-year lease last year with its owner, the Crown Estate, which operates as an independent property company. The Grade II-listed Royal House on the Windsor estate has a garden cottage, a chapel lodge, a six-bedroom cottage and security accommodation.

Last week, more details emerged about how he could afford to buy his mansion, after the lease agreement was revealed. This week, it emerged that Prince Andrew hosted Jeffrey Epstein at the Royal Lodge as part of his daughter Beatrice's birthday celebrations in 2006 - two months after a US arrest warrant was issued for Epstein for the sexual assault of a minor. Andrew did not respond to a request for comment.

For the Palace, Thursday's announcement is an attempt to defuse the scandals surrounding the former Prince Andrew, now simply Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. /CNA