Why Prince Andrew won't lose royal title despite being stripped of royal duties

Ahead of the posthumous release of Virginia Giuffre's memoir tomorrow, Prince Andrew has renounced a number of his royal titles.

Apparently, however, there's one particular moniker that the 65-year-old has no plans to let go.

News of Andrew's decision to relinquish his peerage broke on Friday (17 Oct), reportedly following pressure from King Charles III in light of damning new revelations about his prior relationship with prolific sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.

His affiliation with the infamous financier - who died by suicide while awaiting trial in a New York prison back in 2019 - previously saw the Prince's duties scaled back. This first occurred in 2016 following an interview which saw Andrew reflecting on his history with Epstein.

In 2022, Andrew faced further accusations after a civil sexual abuse lawsuit was brought against him by Giuffre, who claimed she was abused by the royal on numerous occasions as a minor, having been trafficked by Epstein.

Giuffre's memoir will be released tomorrow (TODAY)

Despite Andrew ceaselessly denying these claims, he and Giuffre previously reached out-of-court settlement in the US to avoid a trial, with the Prince forking out an undisclosed sum whilst making no admission of guilt.

That said, he was stripped at the time of his military titles, royal patronages, and 'His Royal Highness' title, which were returned to the late Queen.

Now, Giuffre's posthumous memoir, which is titled Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, delves into more alleged details of what she' claimed of her encounters with Prince Andrew. Ahead of its release to the world tomorrow (21 Oct), Prince Andrew also released a statement claiming he'd chosen to give up both his titles and honours so as not to distract 'from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family'.

The most notable of titles to be taken away from the father-of-two, is the 'Duke of York', which is traditionally passed down to the monarch's second son. However, Andrew will still be referred to as 'Prince' despite calls to have his princedom removed - including from Giuffre's brother Sky Roberts.

This decision can be made only by the nation's ruler at the time, however, therefore falling onto King Charles. The 76-year-old can use legal documents known as letters patent to revoke Andrew's princedom.

Appearing on ITV News recently, Roberts called upon Charles to take this almighty step.

Andrew was previously stripped of his military titles (Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images)

"Now, for the King, I think there's more that he could do," Giuffre's brother admitted. "He does have the ability to strip him even further of the prince title, which we would call upon. I want to commend the King and I want to commend the UK for taking some action."

Giuffre took her own life at her home in Australia back in April, at the age of 41.