Prince Andrew Makes Shocking Announcement That He Will Give Up Royal Titles amid Epstein Accusations

The move comes amid renewed interest surrounding Andrew’s connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. Prince Andrew, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, stepped back from his royal role in 2019 following his BBC interview regarding his ties to the disgraced financier. In January 2022, the Queen stripped her second son of his military titles and patronages after a judge rejected his attempt to have Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault lawsuit against him dismissed. (He settled with Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year, out of court for an undisclosed sum.) He also stopped using the “His Royal Highness” styling.
At the time, he kept his Duke of York title and other honors. He also continued to join the royals at family events, which included holiday outings, funerals and more private gatherings. Andrew also kept his place in the line of succession to the throne, which is currently eighth behind Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s two children.
Prince Andrew’s relationship with Epstein sparked renewed interest in recent weeks. Reports revealed a newly surfaced email from 2011 that allegedly showed the royal telling Epstein, “It would seem we are in this together,” one day after the infamous picture of Andrew with his arm around Giuffre was published.
The email message from Andrew to Epstein also appeared to prove that the pair were in contact after the royal said that he had cut ties with him. The King’s brother told BBC Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis that he had visited Epstein in New York in December 2010 to end their association in person.
Just weeks early, another email was published by The Sun and The Mail on Sunday showing Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, calling Epstein “a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.” That 2011 email was sent after she had said in an interview that she regretted accepting money from him and vowed not to contact him again. Several charities cut ties with Ferguson in the wake of the reports.