Prince Andrew Stripped British Royal Title, Evicted from Palace

London — Britain’s King Charles took the extraordinary step of starting the process to strip his brother Andrew of his royal titles and evict him from the royal estate in Windsor, in the most dramatic attempt yet to quell the scandal over the disgraced prince’s links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The move, described in stark terms by Buckingham Palace as “necessary censures,” cements the deepest split in the British royal family in decades. The question now: whether King Charles and the British establishment have done enough to prevent Andrew’s association with Epstein from engulfing the monarchy. Andrew, 65, had faced 15 years of on-and-off controversy over his friendship with Epstein that had reached a new intensity after the release of a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that Andrew had sexually assaulted her as a teenager. Giuffre – who the prince claims never to have met – died by suicide in April at the age of 41. Andrew has repeatedly denied all allegations against him. Giuffre’s family said in a statement on Thursday: “Today, an ordinary American girl, from an ordinary American family, brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.” Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, told CNN that it had been a “joyous and happy and sad day.” In the statement, Buckingham Palace noted that Andrew would be forced out of his residence and take the family name. “Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. 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,” the statement continued. “These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.” Andrew will move to a property on the Sandringham estate, about 100 miles north of London, which is privately owned by the British monarch. Royal Lodge sits within Windsor Great Park, part of the Crown Estate, which manages the royal family’s land and property holdings on behalf of the British state. Andrew’s new accommodation will be privately funded by King Charles. It’s understood the palace acted because while it acknowledges that Andrew continues to deny all allegations made against him, it had concluded that he made serious lapses of judgement. Andrew is not expected to move to Sandringham until after the Christmas holidays, according to a royal source. Moving in the new year might also avoid potential awkwardness over the holidays as Sandringham is traditionally where the royal family gathers for the festive season. It was previously announced that Andrew would be excluded from Christmas celebrations.