Prince Andrew will no longer use his royal titles, including “Duke of York,” following discussions with King Charles III and other senior members of the royal family.
In a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Friday, Andrew said the decision was reached after “discussions with The King and my immediate and wider family,” adding that continued public scrutiny surrounding his name had become “a distraction from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family.”
“The King and I agree that it is time to take this step. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours that have been conferred upon me,” the statement read. The change takes immediate effect, according to palace officials.
The Prince of Wales, William, and other key royals were reportedly consulted during the deliberations. A royal source told CNN that Andrew will also no longer participate in the royal family’s Christmas gatherings, though he will continue residing at the Royal Lodge in Windsor under a private tenancy agreement.
Despite the changes, he will retain the courtesy title of “Prince,” as he remains the son of the late Queen Elizabeth II. His ex-wife will now be referred to simply as “Sarah Ferguson,” while the titles of their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, remain unaffected.
Prince Andrew’s withdrawal from royal duties and now the relinquishment of his titles mark the latest chapter in a long-running scandal that has dogged him for years. His public downfall began with his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and subsequent sexual abuse allegations made by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed Epstein trafficked her to Andrew when she was a minor in 2001.
Giuffre accused the prince of assaulting her in multiple locations — including Epstein’s Manhattan mansion and his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Prince Andrew denied all allegations but later reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with Giuffre in 2022.
The controversy led to him being stripped of his military titles and losing positions with numerous charitable organizations.
In addition to the Epstein scandal, Andrew has recently faced scrutiny over alleged connections to a Chinese businesswoman, Yang Tengbo, who was barred from the UK after being accused of espionage. Court documents revealed that Yang had acted on Andrew’s behalf in meetings with potential Chinese investors — claims that fueled renewed criticism of the prince’s judgment.
For now, Andrew’s retreat from royal life appears complete. The move is widely seen as an attempt by the monarchy to draw a line under one of its most damaging controversies in decades and to preserve the integrity of the royal institution under King Charles’s reign.
