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Britain’s King Charles has withdrawn the title of ‘Prince’ and all royal titles from his younger brother Andrew. He has also been ordered to vacate his luxurious home ‘Royal Lodge’ in Windsor.
The victim, Virginia Giuffre, had alleged that Prince Andrew sexually abused her in 2001 when she was 17 years old.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement on the matter on Thursday saying, ‘The King has today begun the formal process of removing Prince Andrew’s styles, titles and honors.
In the photo is Prince Andrew, who has his hand on the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre. The photo was taken at Maxwell’s home in London on 10 March 2001.
Prince Andrew’s name also changed
Andrew, 65, is the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth. Andrew’s name has long been linked to American criminal Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of serious allegations of sexual exploitation of minors.
Earlier this month Andrew was also barred from using the title Duke of York.
Buckingham Palace said that after being stripped of his royal titles, Prince Andrew will now be known as ‘Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’. Till now Prince Andrew was known as ‘Prince Andrew Duke of Arc’.
The name Mountbatten-Windsor was created in 1960. This name is formed by combining the family names of both Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip.
Prince Andrew (left) with his brother King Charles (right). (file photo)
Will have to leave the Royal Lodge and live in a private house
Britain’s Buckingham Palace has announced that Prince Andrew has been stripped of all his royal titles and honors, and has also been ordered to vacate the Royal Lodge, his longtime home.
Prince Andrew has been living in the Royal Lodge since 2003. This huge 30-room mansion is located in the grounds of Windsor, which was previously the residence of her mother, Queen Elizabeth II (the Queen Mother).
Following the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, Andrew was granted a 75-year lease on the property. This is where Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson also lives with him. Although both of them got divorced in 1996 itself. Ferguson will also have to vacate the Royal Lodge and make separate living arrangements for himself.
According to a statement from Buckingham Palace, King Charles has today begun a formal process under which Prince Andrew’s titles, honors and special status are being removed. The statement further said that now Andrew will have to leave the house and move to a private house.
Palace said-
This step is necessary, even though Andrew still denies the allegations against him. The King and Queen wish to make it clear that their thoughts and sympathies are with all victims who have suffered exploitation or abuse in any form.
Andrew will now move to a private house built on the Sandringham Estate (Norfolk), the expenses of which will be borne by King Charles himself.
History repeated after 106 years This has happened very rarely in British history when a prince or princess has been stripped of the title of ‘Prince’ or ‘Princess’.
The last time this happened was in 1919, when Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover was stripped of his British title because he sided with Germany in the First World War. Now, after more than 100 years, King Charles has taken such a drastic step.
There has been increasing pressure on the palace for the past few weeks to remove Andrew from his stately home Royal Lodge since he gave up his Duke of Arc title earlier this month.
Death of Virginia accuser
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual harassment, died in April. According to reports he committed suicide. Virginia (41 years) shocked the whole world in 2011 by exposing America’s high profile prostitution network.
Virginia had revealed the sexual exploitation and trafficking that happened to her. She had said that she was trapped in Epstein’s network when she was just 15 years old. She was forced to have sexual relations with several influential and high-profile individuals. In the same interview, Virginia also mentioned her meetings with Britain’s Prince Andrew.
Virginia had lived in Australia for several years and had become an advocate for women experiencing sexual assault. Last month, on October 21, Virginia Giuffre’s memoir ‘No Body’s Girl’ was published, due to which this controversy once again increased.
Virginia had completed this book before her death. In this he has told the story of his exploitation and fight for justice.
A few days before her death, Virginia met with an accident. She had shared a post on Instagram and said that she would not be able to survive much longer.
6 big claims related to Andrew in Virginia’s book
- When Virginia met Andrew for the first time in 2001, she was just 17 years old. She was still a minor during the second meeting.
- When she was going to meet Andrew for the first time, Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine told her, ‘Cinderella, you are going to meet a handsome prince.’
- Andrew had guessed Virginia’s age as soon as he saw her. He said that you are 17 years old, my daughters are just a little younger than you.
- Andrew had sex with Virginia three times. The first time at Ghislaine Maxwell’s house in London, the second time at Epstein’s bungalow in New York and the third time at Epstein’s Caribbean island.
- Virginia has written that when she had sex with Andrew for the third time, there were 8 other minor girls there.
- Prince Andrew felt that it was his birthright to have sex with Virginia.
Virginia Giuffre’s memoir was published on 21 October.
Case filed against Prince Andrew in 2021
Andrew has been an officer in the British Navy. He served in the war with Argentina in the eighties. But after his name came with Virginia, he got a lot of notoriety.
In 2019, he gave up all royal duties. After this, Virginia also filed a lawsuit against Britain’s Prince Andrew in the year 2021. Giuffre alleged that when she was 17 years old, Jeffrey Epstein took her to Andrew Prince and sexually abused her.
Later, Andrew and Virginia together resolved the dispute for about 12 million pounds (about Rs 125 crore). However, Andrew refused to admit any mistake.
Andrew at number 8 in the race for king
In the British Royal Family, the order of succession i.e. ‘Line for the Throne’ decides who will become the next ruler after the King or Queen.
Even though King Charles recently stripped his younger brother Prince Andrew of his title and all other royal honors, Andrew is still eighth in the running for the throne.
————————————— Also read these news related to Prince Andrew…
1. British King’s younger brother gives up royal titles: Name came up in Epstein sex scandal, controversy over relationship with Chinese spy also
Prince Andrew, younger brother of British King Charles III, has announced to give up all his royal titles. Andrew issued a statement on Friday saying that he would no longer use the title ‘Duke of York’.
Prince Andrew’s name has surfaced in the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Apart from this, questions were also raised regarding financial irregularities and relations with an alleged Chinese spy. Read the full news here…
2. Death of Virginia, who accused the British Prince: 14 years ago she had said- Prince Andrew sexually abused her; ousted from the royal family after the allegations
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Britain’s Prince Andrew of sexual harassment, has died. According to reports he committed suicide. However, this has not been confirmed yet. Virginia (41 years) shocked the whole world in 2011 by exposing America’s high profile prostitution network. Read the full news here…
