Prince Andrew, son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, has been stripped of his “prince” title and will move out of his royal residence in the latest fallout from his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Buckingham Palace announced Thursday that King Charles III, Andrew's older brother, has initiated the process of removing Andrew’s “style, titles and honours.”
“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor,” the palace said in a statement. “His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.”
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the statement continued. “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.”
In addition to no longer being referred to as Prince Andrew -- the title given to him at birth by Queen Elizabeth, who died in 2022 at the age of 96 -- Andrew is also losing the titles of Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh, the style “His Royal Highness” and the honors of the Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order, a royal source told ABC News.
Andrew announced earlier this month that he would no longer use his Duke of York title, saying in a statement released by the palace that “the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family.”
The removal of Andrew’s titles marks the first time a member of Britain's royal family has been stripped of their title in over 100 years, according to the U.K. House of Commons.
Under the change announced Thursday, Andrew will also move from his longtime home of Royal Lodge on the grounds of Windsor Castle to a property on Sandringham, the king's private estate in Norfolk, England, a royal source told ABC News.
The titles of Andrew's two children, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, are not affected by the decision. Their mother, Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, will no longer go by the Duchess of York and will make her own living arrangements after having also lived at Royal Lodge, according to the royal source.
The announcement earlier this month that Andrew would no longer use his Duke of York title was made just days before the Oct. 21 release of the memoir, "Nobody's Girl," written by Virginia Giuffre prior to her death in April.
Giuffre had alleged that Epstein -- who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minor girls -- trafficked her to Andrew, whom she claimed took advantage and sexually abused her when she was under 18.
"Nobody's Girl" includes Giuffre's memories of what she alleges were her interactions with Andrew, according to a copy of the book viewed by ABC News.
Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations against him and attacked Giuffre's credibility and motives. He settled a sexual assault lawsuit from Giuffre in February 2022 without admitting to wrongdoing.
Epstein and Giuffre previously settled a civil lawsuit for $500,000 in 2009.
Giuffre's attorney, Sigrid McCawley, managing partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, told ABC News Thursday, "The voice of Virginia Giuffre has changed history."
"Her bravery, determination and resilient spirit has led to this defining moment," McCawley said in a statement. "As we account for the tipping point significance of the King stripping the title 'Prince' from his brother Andrew, it should be a lesson for all to listen, hear and believe survivors of abuse.”
Andrew, the second-youngest of Elizabeth and the late Prince Philip's four children, stepped back from royal public duties in 2019, saying in a statement at the time that his "former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family's work and the valuable work going on in the many organizations and charities that I am proud to support."
Three years later, in 2022, Andrew, who served for 22 years in the Royal Navy, returned his military titles and patronages to his mother.
Epstein's former accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on charges of child sex trafficking and other offenses connected to Epstein, is the only associate of Epstein's to be charged in connection with his crimes. She has consistently denied all wrongdoing.
In an interview in August with the U.S. Department of Justice, Maxwell claimed that an infamous photo of her with Andrew and Giuffre is fake and that an alleged sexual encounter between the prince and the then-teenage Giuffre could not have happened at her London home, as had been claimed by Giuffre.
"What I can absolutely categorically say is that I never at any time set Andrew up to have relations with her or any other human being ever," she said, according to a transcript and audio of the conversation released by the DOJ.
