WorldBuckingham Palace says Prince Andrew will stop using titles and honours, including the Duke of York.King Charles III’s brother says ‘continued accusations’ are distracting from monarchyThomson Reuters · Posted: Oct 17, 2025 2:13 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoPrince Andrew arriving for the Requiem Mass service for the Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral in London on Sept. 16. (Jordan Pettitt/Reuters)Prince Andrew said on Friday he would give up using his title of Duke of York following years of criticism about his behaviour and connections to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.In a statement on Friday, Andrew said “the continued accusations about me” distracted from the work of his elder brother King Charles and the wider work of the British 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,” Andrew said.”With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use the title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”His decision to give up his titles was taken following discussion with senior royals. The King was glad about the outcome, according to a royal source. As the son of the late Queen Elizabeth, Andrew remains a prince and is still eighth in line to the throne.WATCH | More on Prince Andrew’s announcement:Prince Andrew to give up royal titles, including Duke of YorkPrince Andrew said Friday he is giving up his royal title of the Duke of York after his friendship with deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein returned to the headlines. Andrew has been embroiled in scandal for years. In 2022, he settled a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, accusing him of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager. Andrew has always denied her account, which returned to prominence in the last week with the release of her memoir coming Tuesday. Guiffre, who died in April, said in her book that “entitled” Andrew believed it was his birthright to have sex with her, according to extracts published by the Guardian newspaper.”Things are simply not going away,” royal biographer Robert Hardman told BBC TV. “And I think the palace has decided, and Prince Andrew has agreed, that there really has to be a further separation.”He wants to look as if he’s proactive and try and regain some dignity out of this.” Andrew, who had already given up being called “His Royal Highness,” will continue to live in Royal Lodge, a large property on the estate surrounding Windsor Castle, a historic royal palace to the west of London.However, he will no longer attend the annual royal Christmas get-togethers at Sandringham, the royal home in eastern England.His daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will be unaffected, but his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will also no longer be known as the Duchess of York.Prince Andrew speaks with King Charles as they leave Westminster Cathedral on Sept. 16. (Toby Melville/Reuters)In September, several charities cut their links to her after she described Epstein as a “supreme friend” in an email three years after he had pleaded guilty in 2008 to a state prostitution charge in Florida and agreed to register as a sex offender.In addition to the ties to Epstein that dogged him, Andrew’s business relations have also proved problematic.Last December, court documents revealed that a Chinese businessman who had been authorized to act on Andrew’s behalf to seek investors in China had been banned from Britain on national security grounds.The documents revealed the businessman, who the British government believed to be a spy, had been invited to Andrew’s birthday party. The British Royal Family has seen its working numbers diminish in the last few years, with the King’s younger son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan having also stepped down from official duties.While Andrew’s title will be inactive rather than taken away, historian Anthony Seldon told the BBC that the last time a senior royal was stripped of a dukedom was more than 100 years ago.”Looking historically, this is a very, very significant step,” Seldon said.
Prince Andrew gives up royal titles
