Prince Andrew gives up his titles

 

Prince Andrew has given  up his titles. In a surprise statement, he said he will ''no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me.'' It takes immediate effect.

It means that The King's brother will no longer be known as the Duke of York, a title he has held for almost forty years. He will also relinquish use of his other titles - Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh. He has given up his membership of the Order of the Garter, the oldest chivalric honour in the country.

His full statement read ''"In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family. 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 decision comes after publication of correspondence sent by Andrew to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, who died in 2019. Andrew told Epstein they were in things together and the correspondence was after the date he said he had ceased contact with him. In recent days, the posthumous memoirs of Virginia Guiffre have been published in which she detailed times she said she was forced to have sex with Andrew. He has denied that.

Just weeks ago, his former wife, Sarah, was found to have sent an email to Epstein apologising for disowning him in an interview and begging for forgiveness. She also gives up her title and will now be known by her maiden name, Sarah Ferguson.

The titles of Andrew and Sarah's two children are not affected - they remain HRH Princess Beatrice and HRH Princess Eugenie. Andrew also remains a prince because of Letters Patent issued by King George V in 1917 which give that title to all children of a Monarch. He gave up using his HRH in 2022.