Prince Andrew will no longer use Duke of York title, Palace announces
The disgraced Prince Andrew will no longer use the title Duke of York, Buckingham Palace has announced.
Andrew will give up the title, as well as his other honorifics, following new revelations in the long-running scandal of his association with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In a bombshell announcement from Buckingham Palace on Friday evening, Andrew said: “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.
“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
The King’s brother will retain the dukedom, which can only be removed by an Act of Parliament but not use it.
He will also give up his knighthood as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) and his Garter role as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
Leaders in York have long campaigned for Andrew to be stripped of the dukedom, which was conferred on him by the late Queen on his wedding day in 1986.
York Central MP Rachael Maskell previously presented a Bill in Parliament to try to strip the title away from Andrew, and the city’s council also removed his status as Freeman of the City.
The latest development in the long-running controversy comes just days before the publication of a memoir by Andrew’s late alleged victim, Virginia Giuffre, to whom he paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case.
Andrew will remain a prince, which he has been entitled to since birth.