LONDON (AP) — King Charles III on Thursday stripped his disgraced brother Prince Andrew of his remaining titles and evicted him from his royal residence after weeks of pressure to act over his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Buckingham Palace said.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the palace said.
It is almost unprecedented for a British prince or princess to be stripped of that title.
It last happened in 1919, when Prince Ernest Augustus, who was a U.K. royal and also a prince of Hanover, had his British title removed for siding with Germany during World War I. Toppling a prince.
It’s the most dramatic royal departure since 1936, when King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson.
Prince Harry, despite renouncing his royal role, feuding with his family and moving to California, remains a prince and the Duke of Sussex.
The move by the king means Andrew will no longer be a prince or known as His Royal Highness, the Duke of York, Earl of Inverness or Baron Killyleagh — all titles he held until now. »