Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, is set to be stripped of his Vice Admiral rank, days after losing his royal titles, according to Britain’s defence secretary.
King Charles III stripped Andrew of his prince and Duke of York titles and has forced him to quit his 30-room mansion, Royal Lodge, as pressure mounts over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
John Healey, U.K. defence secretary, told the BBC the Ministry of Defence was working on removing the title: “This is a move that’s right, it’s a move the King has indicated we should take and we’re working on that at the moment.”
Why It Matters
Virginia Giuffre sued Andrew at civil court in New York in 2021 and he settled for an undisclosed sum while denying liability. He has always denied knowledge of Epstein’s federal crimes.
In her legal filings, Giuffre stated she was trafficked aged 17 in 2001 to London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to have sex with Andrew and feared death if she refused.
The origins of the public’s knowledge of the scandal date back far longer than that court case, however, to December 2010 when Andrew was photographed walking through Central Park with Epstein two years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Fifteen years on, King Charles moved to strip Andrew of his prince and Duke of York titles and force him out of his 30-room mansion, Royal Lodge, a move that appears to acknowledge the palace’s past efforts to contain the scandal had been inadequate.
What to Know
Healey told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “In general, the government has been guided by the decisions and judgments the king has made. In defence, it’s exactly the same.
“We’ve seen Andrew surrender the honorary positions he’s had throughout the military, and guided again by the king, we are working now to remove that last remaining title of vice-admiral that he has.”
The potential removal of Andrew’s titles comes after a wave of new revelations about Andrew and Epstein including emails sent between them.
Among the most explosive new details, Andrew wrote Epstein an email in February 2011 after Giuffre’s first newspaper interview was published. In it, he stated: “I’m just as concerned for you! Don’t worry about me! It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it. Otherwise keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”
The message was particularly incendiary because Andrew had, in a 2019 interview aimed at clearing his name, told the BBC he flew to New York to break off his friendship in person with Epstein in December 2010.
“I left, I think it was the next day,” Andrew said in the interview, “and to this day I never had any contact with him from that day forward.”
Another email that has emerged in recent weeks was from Andrew to a Buckingham Palace press officer and appeared to show he asked an on duty police protection officer to dig up dirt on Giuffre.
“It would also seem she has a criminal record in the States,” Andrew wrote. “I have given her DoB [date of birth] and social security number for investigation with XXX, the on duty ppo [personal protection officer].”
Giuffre’s family have denied she had a criminal record.
What People Are Saying
Afua Hagan, a U.K. based royal commentator, told Newsweek: “All the titles we can strip him of, I think it should be done, it’s absolutely a good idea. But I think we also need to escalate it beyond the symbolic action of taking away titles.
“There’s been talk of him potentially speaking to the U.S. Congress and the Metropolitan Police—these are the things we should now be looking at. The stripping away of titles is fair enough but the real accountability comes from speaking to the authorities.”
Royal biographer Ingrid Seward, author of My Mother and I, told Newsweek: “I think these titles mean a huge amount to Andrew, I really do. He’s entitled and almost as much as he loves money he loves titles.
“The Vice Admiral title was awarded by his mother because she was head of the forces, the queen [Elizabeth II]. He will be extremely annoyed about losing it. The action the king’s taken has to be effective. He’s done the right thing, it couldn’t be done in a hurry because it’s never happened before so they had to check how it could be done. But once it was done I think it is very much the right thing.”
Dai Davies, a former head of Royalty Protection at the Metropolitan Police, said in October: “It is time for Scotland Yard to launch a full criminal investigation into Prince Andrew.
“Asking a police officer to investigate an alleged victim is outside of their duties, whether that is calling the FBI, your mates in the U.S, or searching out themselves to find out whether someone has a criminal offence. That is, in my view, a criminal offence.”
The Metropolitan Police confirmed in October: “We are aware of media reporting and are actively looking into the claims made.”
What Happens Next
Healey did not lay out a timeline for Andrew to lose his Vice Admiral title but did appear to suggest the process was already in motion.
Andrew is also in the midst of a potentially drawn out process of surrendering his lease at Royal Lodge and the palace will not be drawn on how long that will take.
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