LONDON, England — King Charles III has formally stripped Prince Andrew of his princely title and ordered him to vacate his residence at Royal Lodge in Windsor, as pressure intensifies over the Duke’s association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace on Thursday, October 30, 2025, the King “initiated a formal process to remove the style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew”.
The palace confirmed that the 65-year-old royal will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
“Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease” on the Royal Lodge property, which Andrew has occupied for over 20 years, the palace said.
He is expected to relocate to the royal estate at Sandringham, with any future accommodation funded privately by the monarch.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the statement read.
“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
While stripping Andrew of the peerage Duke of York requires an Act of Parliament, he voluntarily ceased using the title earlier this month amid renewed public scrutiny.
Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s former wife, will also vacate the Windsor property and revert to her maiden name.
Ferguson, 66, has continued to share the home since their divorce in 1996 and is mother to their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
The move follows the release of Nobody’s Girl, a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who repeated allegations that she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with Andrew as a teenager — claims he has vehemently denied.
The announcement also comes after emails resurfaced showing Andrew remained in contact with Epstein months after publicly claiming to have cut ties in 2010.
Andrew’s ties to Epstein have overshadowed his public life since a widely criticised BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, after which he stepped down from royal duties.
In 2022, he reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre without admitting wrongdoing, leading the late Queen Elizabeth II to strip him of his military titles and royal patronages.
