King Charles said that “notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him”, he felt “these censures are deemed necessary”.
“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,” a statement from Buckingham Palace said.
Just hours after the announcement was made, which also revealed His Majesty had written to the Lord Chancellor to remove Andrew from the Roll of Peerage, his Duke of York titles were no longer seen on the online roll.
Calls for Andrew to face questions in the UK and US
As the fallout continues for the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, pressure has now turned to having Andrew answer to UK parliament about his rent-free agreement with the Crown Estate.
Others are calling for him to be questioned in the US by the FBI on his relationship with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019, and the financier’s partner in crime Ghislaine Maxwell, who remains behind bars.
Giuffre’s family celebrated the King’s announcement of Andrew being stripped of all titles and honours and being evicted from his 30-bedroom mansion, but they now want it taken a step further.
“Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family, brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage,” Giuffre’s family said in a statement.
Her brother Sky Roberts followed that up in an interview, telling the BBC: “We need to take it one more step further: he needs to be behind bars, period.”
Giuffre said when she was a teenager, in the early 2000s, she was caught up in Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring and exploited by Andrew and other influential men.
She died by suicide in April at her home in Western Australia, at the age of 41, shortly after finishing her memoir Nobody’s Girl, which was released last week.
UK trade minister Chris Bryant appeared to agree with Giuffre’s family’s sentiment.
The government minister said Andrew was now an “ordinary member of the public”, and should go to the US to answer questions about Epstein if asked.
“If Andrew is asked to do something by a Senate committee, then I would have thought that he would want to comply,” Bryant told the BBC.
Andrew paid millions in an out-of-court settlement in 2022 after Giuffre filed a civil suit against him in New York. While he didn’t admit wrongdoing, he acknowledged Giuffre’s suffering as a victim of sex trafficking.
Andrew could face legal trouble in Britain, where police are probing a claim he asked one of this police bodyguards to dig up dirt on Giuffre after providing them with personal information including her date of birth and social security number.
A committee of UK lawmakers is also looking into how Andrew paid for Royal Lodge, which he leased for a nominal annual fee — known as a “peppercorn rent”.
Unprecedented royal exit
In the wake of this latest round of scandals, Andrew announced he’d surrendered his use of the title Duke of York earlier this month, with the King now taking it further to officially strip him of all titles for his serious lapses in judgement.
Removing the title of prince, one he’s held since birth as a child of a monarch, is almost unprecedented.
It last happened in 1919, when Prince Ernest Augustus, who was a UK royal and also a prince of Hanover, had his British title removed for siding with Germany during World War I.
Andrew’s is the most dramatic royal exit since 1936, when King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson.
The couple were given the titles Duke and Duchess of Windsor and lived the rest of their lives in exile outside Britain.
Prince Harry, despite renouncing his royal role, feuding with his family and moving to California, remains a prince and the Duke of Sussex.
– Reported with Associated Press.
