Prince Andrew announced that he is relinquishing his Duke of York title last week. The royal first confirmed he would be stepping away from public life in 2019 following increased public interest in his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and in 2022 he was stripped of his royal patronages amidst a civil case put forward by the late Virginia Giuffre, which was eventually settled privately.
With Giuffre's posthumous memoir released today, and growing pressure for the Palace to address Prince Andrew's relationship with Epstein following the recent release of their private emails, King Charles reportedly advised his brother to make the announcement in a brief phone call on Friday (per The Mirror). In his statement, Prince Andrew claimed that he reached the decision to drop his Dukedom as "continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family".
Although Andrew will retain his HRH title and remain a Prince, it has been reported that Prince William is 'not satisfied' with the Palace's response. One royal source told The Mirror: "After close consultation with his family, and in particular Prince William, the King summoned Andrew to tell him to do the right thing. He was told it was beyond comprehension for him to continue to enjoy the privileges of his position."
A report published by The Times claimed that William will be "ruthless" when it comes to his approach to what insiders have dubbed "the Andrew problem". Earlier this year, journalist Richard Kay claimed that Prince William has "long held a grudge" against Andrew for his treatment of Catherine, Princess of Wales, and he has often disagreed with how King Charles has dealt with Andrew in recent years. Additionally, William was reportedly "furious" that he was photographed with Andrew at the Duchess of Kent's funeral last month, and recently spoke about his plans to make 'changes' to the monarchy when he becomes King.
Following Prince Andrew's statement on Friday, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told The Mirror: "When William becomes King he is likely to pursue a tough policy and we may never see Andrew or Sarah in public again at a royal event."
This new biography unpacks the life of Prince Andrew, and been touted as 'the most devastating royal biography ever written'.
Published in 2022 ahead of his 40th birthday, royal author Robert Jobson's account on the life of William, the Prince of Wales and future King.
This was branded as one of the most 'explosive' royal biographies in recent years, detailing the fallout between the monarchy, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Sarah Ferguson is also set to relinquish her Duchess of York title. She has faced criticism in recent weeks for emails that she sent to Epstein in 2011, weeks after publicly condemning him.
The Palace has not yet commented on this story.
