York MP Rachael Maskell launches #DitchTheDuke petition in a bid to strip Prince Andrew of Duke of York title

Ms Maskell has launched a change.org petition in a bid to strip Prince Andrew of his Duke of York title.

It comes days after Andrew’s legal team announced that the Duke had settled out of court with Virginia Giuffre in her civil sex claim against him for an undisclosed sum, rumoured to be eight figures.

Ms Giuffre, also known as Virginia Roberts, made the claim against Andrew for damages in her home country of the US, claiming she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew’s friend, to have sex with the Royal when she was 17, a minor under US law.

On the petition, Ms Maskell wrote that Prince Andrew’s conduct, and his initial response to Ms Guiffre, had been “a source of deep hurt and embarrassment to many in York and Yorkshire.”

“Carrying a title carries an ambassadorial relationship with that place, and for somewhere with a global reputation, such as York, this is extremely important,” she stated.

“88% of people in a York Press poll expressed their desire for the title of ‘duke’, associated with our city, to be removed.”

Ms Maskell noted that while the Queen removed Prince Andrew’s other titles in January this year, there is currently no legal way for the Queen, Parliament, or local people to remove a geographic title.

The petition calls for the House of Commons to urgently introduce legislation that makes it possible to remove geographical titles “when a title holder’s associations, engagements, or conduct fall below expected standards in public life”.

Ms Maskell’s campaign comes after the MP spent time examining historic legislation dating from the 18th century in a bid to work out how the Duke of York’s title could be removed.

You can find the petition here.