News Writer Gabrielle Segal reports on King Charles’ decision to strip Andrew of his royal titles amid public pressure
On 3 November, King Charles officially stripped Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly known as His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, of all his royal titles and privileges as a result of his alleged connections to convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein. It has also been confirmed that the government and extensive members of the Royal Family were consulted when making this decision.
So, what does the timeline look like?
ITVX reported that Andrew admitted to first meeting Epstein in 1999 through his girlfriend at the time. However, the first public accusation made against Andrew by name was in 2019 by Virginia Guiffre who did an interview with BBC Panorama, and stated that she was forced to have sex with him back in 2001.
However, in recent months, more emails have surfaced that seem to have further incriminated Andrew and made it impossible for the Royal Family to defend him any longer
Throughout these allegations, while Andrew has admitted his association with Epstein, he has maintained his denial of any knowledge of Epstein’s sex crimes and rejected any allegations of personal wrongdoing. Andrew himself in 2019, after Guiffre’s interview reported to BBC News Night ‘It didn’t happen. I can absolutely categorically tell you it never happened.’
Buckingham Palace, in 2015, released a statement defending Andrew after his name was mentioned in a US lawsuit over underage sex claims relating to Epstein, stating that ‘any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue’
However, in recent months, more emails have surfaced that seem to have further incriminated Andrew and made it impossible for the Royal Family to defend him any longer. In January 2025, it was confirmed that contact between Andrew and Epstein went beyond 2010, which is longer than he had previously admitted in his News Night interview.
Emails released by the House Oversight Committee this week contain an email from Epstein stating that ‘Yes, she [Guiffre] had her picture taken with Andrew’, after he had previously denied ever meeting her.
NBC reported that there were more emails between Andrew and the paedophile in 2011 when Epstein forwarded an email to Andrew that contained a story the Mail on Sunday had been working on, with Giuffre coming forward with her claims about the Prince to which he replied, ‘Please make sure that every statement or legal letter states clearly that I am NOT involved and that I knew and know NOTHING about any of these allegations. I can’t take any more of this on my end.’
Following the release of these emails, there have been more serious consequences for Andrew.
He has been forced to leave his home in Windsor, Royal Lodge and relocate to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Similarly, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson has also been forced to leave Windsor and had her title as the Duchess of York removed on October 17 when Andrew originally relinquished his title as the Duke of York.
58% felt like the royal family had been too slow to take action against Andrew
Now that his title has been removed, he will no longer attend royal public events, and his recent appearances have been restricted to private family occasions including memorial services and funerals.
It is evident that stripping Andrew of his titles has shown to have gotten an overwhelmingly supportive response from the public. After it was announced on October 30 that the King would begin the process of removing Andrew’s titles, YouGov conducted a survey which showed that 79% of Britons agreed with the King’s final decision, and 58% felt like the royal family had been too slow to take action against Andrew.
By stripping Andrew of his titles, King Charles has positioned the decision as an emphasis on accountability within the monarchy. Observers have suggested that such actions may influence public perceptions of the King’s popularity and leadership.
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