What happens to Prince Andrew now he’s been forced to give up his titles
Royal commentators have offered up their expertise to suggest what life might look like for Prince Andrew going forward, now that he's been stripped of his remaining royal titles.
The decision to have the 65-year-old surrender his final few honours was made on Friday (17 October), allegedly following pressure placed upon him from his elder brother King Charles III in light of new revelations regarding his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
Andrew had been linked to the former financier as early as the 90s, later claiming he saw Epstein 'infrequently' - 'probably no more than only once or twice a year'.
Despite Epstein being convicted of the sexual abuse of a Florida minor in 2008, the royal was papped taking a walk with him in Central Park, New York less than two years later.
Advert
Media mogul Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges, before going on to take his life ahead of standing trial.
The same year, a woman named Virginia Giuffre - who has since taken her own life - alleged that Prince Andrew had sexually abused her on three occasions as a minor, after first being trafficked by Epstein.
Though the royal has continuously denied these claims, he and Giuffre reached an out-of-court settlement of an undisclosed sum in the US in 2022, in a bid to avoid a trial after she pursued legal action against him.
At the time, Andrew was forced to hand his military titles, royal patronages, and 'His Royal Highness' title back to his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Ahead of today's (21 October) release of Giuffre's posthumous memoir Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice - in which she promised to provide further details of her alleged encounters with the Prince - Andrew renounced his 'Duke of York' title in a damning statement.
The Prince renounces his royal titles
Insisting he'd done so to not distract 'from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family', he added: "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."
This said, however, the royal will still be referred to as 'Prince', with the decision to have this moniker removed falling onto the nation's ruler at the time.
If he decided to, 76-year-old Charles could use legal documents known as letters patent to revoke Andrew's princedom.
Prince Andrew's future
Since last week's news broke, questions have been raised by onlookers over what the future holds for Prince Andrew.
Speaking to E! News, royal expert Sharon Carpenter claimed that, logistically, things mightn't change as drastically as one might suspect for Andrew - given that, whilst he may have lost the title naming him so, he'll technically remain a duke.
"For Andrew to be legally stripped of his dukedom before his death, it would require statutory action," she explained. "A vote by Parliament."
As well as his position, Carpenter adds that it's highly unlikely he'll lose his royal residence - Royal Lodge in Windsor, where he and ex-wife Sarah still live, in the years since co-parenting their two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Interestingly, the mother-of-two also had her 'Sarah, Duchess of York' title removed in light of the recent emergence of emails sent by her to Epstein in 2011, in which she described him as both a 'supreme friend', and a 'dear, dear friend'.
Months earlier, she'd publicly described her prior association with Epstein as a 'gigantic error of judgment'.
After the messages were released to the public, a spokesperson for Sarah insisted they were sent as a counter to a defamation threat by Epstein.
"Like many people, she was taken in by his lies," they added. "As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with paedophilia.
"She does not resile from anything she said then. This email was sent in the context of advice the Duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats."
Despite the practicalities of everyday life unlikely to change for Andrew, however, the expert added that the removal of his final few titles marks 'nail in the coffin and closes the door permanently on any hopes he may have had to one day return to royal life'.
Carpenter added: "Realistically, this is undoubtedly the end of any meaningful royal career Andrew may have had.
"Without a dramatic change in public sentiment and the disturbing narrative around him—which just isn’t going to happen—there can be no return to public duties.
"From this day forth, he is technically a private individual who happens to have royal lineage."
Distance created between Prince Andrew and the Royal Family
Asked what she believes Andrew's statement indicates about the King's stance on the Giuffre's latest revelations, she continued that Charles likely 'wants to create as much distance as currently possible between the monarchy and the disgraced prince'.
Carpenter lastly added of the father-of-two: "His personal relationships with his family members are likely more strained than ever and the pathway to any royal comeback is now closed."
Such is also likely to be the case when the festival season rolls around, she went on to mention.
"It is highly doubtful we will see him publicly with any senior member of the royal family for the foreseeable future," Carpenter explained. "Expect his absence this Christmas during the walk to St. Mary Magdalene Church and for many Christmases to come."
Topics: Prince Andrew, US News, UK News, Royal Family, Jeffrey Epstein
Rhianna Benson