Prince Andrew drops title as Duke of York amid Epstein fallout

Prince Andrew has renounced the use of his title, Duke of York, completing a disgrace that began almost six years ago with a calamitous television interview about his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement released Friday evening, Andrew said that after discussing the matter with his older brother, King Charles III, he had decided he would “no longer use my title or the honors bestowed on me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations made against me.”

Andrew, 65, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, was removed from his official role in 2019 after a fierce public backlash against him following the interview with the BBC, as well as allegations of sexual misconduct. He was recently ensnared in a spying scandal involving China.

The cascade of scandals once again plunges the British royal family into crisis. Charles, who had urged the Queen to push Andrew into internal exile in 2019, appeared ready to take further punitive measures this time around, according to British media. After the two brothers consulted, Andrew acted preemptively.

“We have concluded that the continued accusations about me are distracting from the work of Her Majesty and the Royal Family,” Andrew said in a two-paragraph statement. “I have decided, as I always have, to prioritize my duty to my family and my country. I stand by my decision of five years ago to retire from public life.”

In the 2019 BBC interview, Andrew claimed to have severed ties with Mr Epstein, who hanged himself in his New York prison cell earlier that year, after they were photographed together in New York in 2010. But details have since leaked suggesting he remained in contact with Mr Epstein after he claimed to have severed ties.

In 2022, Andrew was stripped of his military titles after Virginia Giuffre, a victim of Mr Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, accused the prince of raping her when she was a teenager, an accusation he denied. He settled a lawsuit brought by Ms. Giuffre in 2022 for an undisclosed amount, without admission of guilt. A memoir by Ms Giuffre, who died by suicide in Australia in April, will be published this month, recounting how she was introduced to Andrew through Mr Epstein.

Andrew was also embroiled in a scandal involving Chinese spying efforts in Britain, with revelations that he repeatedly met with Cai Qi, a senior Chinese official close to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Mr Cai allegedly received information gathered by two British men who worked with members of the British Parliament active in Chinese affairs. Prosecutors dropped espionage charges against the two men, turning into a political crisis for Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

As the son of a monarch, Andrew will remain a prince, palace officials said at a press briefing on Friday. His mother conferred upon him the title of Duke of York upon her marriage in 1986. Historians say it is extremely rare for a member of the royal family to relinquish such a title. Prince Harry, who stepped back from royal duties and moved to the United States in 2020, remains the Duke of Sussex.

Andrew’s daughters will retain their titles of Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. But his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will no longer use the title of Duchess of York, which she retained after the couple’s divorce.

Andrew had already stopped using the honorific title His Royal Highness. And he had been stripped of more than a dozen military titles, including that of colonel of the Grenadier Guards, a renowned infantry regiment in the British army.

For all of Andrew’s disgrace, the Queen still included him in family rituals and celebrations. However, after his death in 2022, he found himself more isolated. Now Andrew will also be banned from the family Christmas celebration at Sandringham, Norfolk, north-east of London, according to palace officials. This annual event is a must-see on the royal calendar.

In not-so-small consolation, Andrew will continue to live at Royal Lodge, a grand royal residence on the Windsor Estate, west of London. Royal watchers have long speculated that Charles would evict his brother from the residence. But palace officials said Andrew had a private tenancy agreement with the Crown Estate, which was not affected by his decision to stop using his title.