Buckingham Palace said the Duke of York’s titles and patronages had been returned to the Queen.
An official source says Prince Andrew will stop using the style of His Royal Highness as well. He faces civil action over allegations of sexual assault – which he repeatedly denies. It was reported that the duke would “continue to defend himself” against Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit in New York.
A judge’s decision that the civil action can proceed on Wednesday did not reflect a judgment on the merits of Ms Giuffre’s allegations, according to sources.
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Royal patronages and military affiliations of the Duke of York have been returned to the Queen upon approval and agreement by Buckingham Palace. In this case, the Duke of York represents himself as a private citizen and will not be undertaking any public duties.” The source said that Prince Andrew’s roles have been returned to the Queen with immediate effect and will be distributed to other members of the Royal Family. Authorities said the Royal Family had discussed the issue extensively.
Prince Andrew retains his title HRH but will not use it in an official capacity, like Harry and Meghan. The Ministry of Defence said it had no comment on the duke’s military titles being returned to the Queen and that it was a Palace matter.
More than 150 veterans signed an open letter – released by anti-monarchy pressure group Republic – asking the Queen to strip Prince Andrew of his eight British military titles on Thursday. Lieutenant Stuart Hunt, who served with The 1st Royal Tank Regiment and signed the letter, welcomed the prince shedding his military titles. However, he believes the matter should have been resolved sooner. The 52-year-old told the PA News Agency: “It’s an unsavoury business… I’m just glad he’s not associated with the military now. “Whether he’s not guilty, he has brought things into disrepute… He’s unfit to serve in an honorary rank. By getting involved in this kind of situation, he has forfeited that right.”
Buckingham Palace’s response has been swift and almost brutal. As a result of the allegations against Prince Andrew, the Royal Family is keeping a distance from the fallout. Rather than defending himself against Virginia Giuffre as His Royal Highness, he will have to do so as a private citizen. It is a mutual agreement rather than something imposed.
However, the military titles and royal roles will go to other family members, so they will not return to Prince Andrew. Getting back into public life is no longer possible. He is still the “counsellor of state”, one of four royals who can carry out Queen Elizabeth’s official duties if she is ill.
The court case will still make headlines, and it could cast a shadow on the Jubilee year. In any case, this unambiguous decision will have already addressed the inevitable calls to remove his remaining public roles. It is a “marathon, not a sprint”, according to the Prince’s representatives, and they vehemently deny any wrongdoing. This retreat must seem vast and rapid.
Duke of Cambridge served as a helicopter pilot in the Falklands war during his 22-year career in the Royal Navy. As a result of this announcement, he is no longer Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, one of the most senior infantry regiments in the British Army.
He no longer holds the following UK military titles:
Honorary air commodore of RAF Lossiemouth
Colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Regiment
Colonel-in-chief of the Small Arms School Corps
Colonel-in-chief of The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth’s Own)
Colonel-in-chief of the Yorkshire Regiment
Colonel-in-chief of the Small Arms School Corps
Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm
Royal Colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers
Royal Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Furthermore, the duke will lose several overseas honorary posts, including colonel-in-chief of the Royal Highland Fusiliers Of Canada, colonel-in-chief of the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment, colonel-in-chief of the Princess Louise Fusiliers of Canada and colonel-in-chief of the Queen’s York Rangers (1st American Regiment).
The Palace confirmed that he would retain his service rank as Vice-Admiral. He was promoted to Vice-Admiral by the Navy on his 55th birthday in 2015 as a former armed forces member. The Duke had been slated to be promoted to Admiral in 2020 on his 60th birthday but deferred after stepping back from public duties in 2019. The Palace said his other military appointments were suspended at the time.
Other charities and organisations cut ties with the duke as well. Despite this, he held dozens of royal patronages, including membership in prestigious golf clubs, schools, and cultural trusts.
Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, welcomed the return of the Duke of York’s titles and patronages. The duke’s change in status ahead of the US civil case was “necessary” to protect the military’s reputation, he said on the BBC’s Newscast podcast. I think it was expected, or at least expected from this perspective, so I am not surprised. The Prince had already stepped down from many of his public duties, and I believe from all of them.
Prince Andrew’s problems must not spill over into the regiments he served for, Mr Ellwood said. Earlier, David Boies, Ms Giuffre’s lawyer, told the BBC his client wanted to be vindicated, not just receive a monetary settlement.
Prince’s lawyers argued that her case should be dismissed because of a 2009 agreement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The judge dismissed Prince Andrew’s claim that the case against him was “legally insufficient” and could not be heard at a future trial in a 46-page decision.
In August 2021, Giuffre, now 38, filed a civil claim under the state’s Child Victims Act, allowing victims of childhood sexual abuse to pursue a claim that would otherwise have been barred because of the passage of time. In court documents filed as part of her civil case against Prince Andrew, Ms Giuffre claimed she had been the victim of sex trafficking and abuse by the late billionaire financier, Epstein.
Her abuse included being loaned out to other powerful men. As a 17-year-old, Giuffre claims Epstein trafficked her to have sex with Prince Andrew. As a minor under US law, she claims to have been abused by the duke on three separate occasions, both in the United Kingdom and in the United States.
According to an interview with BBC Newsnight in 2019, the Queen’s second son had no recollection of ever meeting Ms Giuffre, and their alleged sex in the US and UK never occurred. Duke of Windsor retreated from public life shortly after the interview, which he used to reiterate his denials of Ms Giuffre’s claims and explain his friendship with Epstein and the late financier’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell was found guilty last month of recruiting and trafficking underage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. Ms Giuffre claims the late billionaire financier trafficked her when she was 17 to have sex with the late Prince Andrew.