King Charles III strips prince title from Andrew, evicts him from Royal Lodge home

Prince Andrew is no longer entitled to use the title of prince after his brother, King Charles III, stripped his younger brother of not only his birthright but also his home at the Royal Lodge.

The decree was issued on Thursday, about two weeks after he was stripped of using his other titles and honors that had been conferred upon him, his official biography said.

The statement from the palace read:

“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honors of Prince Andrew.

“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor."

The statement went on to say that Mountbatten Windsor, as he will be called, will no longer call the Royal Lodge his home.

“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 fall from the grace of the monarchy comes after years of denying he had sex with Virginia Giuffre, one of the women who was allegedly trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein. She was 17 at the time. A posthumous memoir was published this month. Giuffre had taken her life while living in Australia earlier this year, the AP reported.

Mountbatten Windsor had long denied the allegations he faced.

The king’s statement gave the allegations and the denials as the reason for the historic move.

"These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.

“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.”

What does the decree mean for Andrew, ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, daughters?

Mountbatten Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will have to move out of the 30-room sprawling lodge.

He is expected to move to the king’s estate at Sandringham.

The Telegraph said that it will be a major shakeup in what Mountbatten Windsor is used to, noting that for most of the year, there are only farmhands and staff at the estate outside of the busy Christmas season.

“It’s going to be a lonely life for him,” one source told The Telegraph. “It’s a working farm, so there are always people around, but they are staff, and he’s not someone who has a track record of being friendly with servants.

“I wouldn’t want to live there the whole time. It’s remote, there is the wind whipping in from The Wash, it’s cold and he will be pretty much stuck there. It does have a certain beauty, but life will be bleak for him.”

Royal biographer Anna Pasternak said that “being shut up in a 20,000 acre estate in Sandringham in Norfolk is going to be a pretty grim and lonely life for him,” according to The Telegraph.

It is expected that he will move after the Christmas celebrations, sometimes after the start of the New Year, according to the British publication.

As for Ferguson, she will have to make her own arrangements, The Washington Post reported.

The couple had been married in 1986, but 10 years later, in 1996, they divorced. Still, they have lived together at the Lodge since 2008, but in separate wings, according to In Style.

“We always say we are the most contented divorced couple in the world. We’re divorced to each other, not from each other. We are co-parents who support each other and believe that family is everything. I’m proud of the job we have done together in bringing up our children and sustaining a strong family unit. Our bywords are communication, compromise, and compassion," Ferguson told Hello! in the past.

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will retain their titles, the Post reported.

As for Mountbatten Windsor, he will always, of course, be the son of Queen Elizabeth II, but he will not be referred to as His Royal Highness." He also lost the use of the title Duke of York and the king will have to send royal warrants to remove his brother’s dukedom from Peerage Roll, the Post explained.

Everything that is happening to Mountbatten Windsor is historic.

The Telegraph reported that this "level of shame that has never occurred to any member of the Royal Family in living memory, let alone a man who is the king’s younger brother and eighth in line to the throne."

One thing that isn’t changing, at least for now, is that Mountbatten Windsor will remain in the line of succession.

There have been calls and legislation to remove him from the line that could make him king. He is currently eighth in line for the throne.

He follows:

1. Prince William
2. Prince George
3. Princess Charlotte
4. Prince Louis
5. Prince Harry
6. Prince Archie
7. Princess Lilibet

Royal.UK notes on its page about the line of succession: “The succession to the throne is regulated not only through descent, but also by Parliamentary statute.”

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, according to The Telegraph, “There are no plans … The Government is committed to using parliamentary time to improve the lives of working people" instead of removing the now-former prince from the line.

The BBC noted that it would be complicated to remove Mountbatten Windsor from the succession line, since it would need to have the consent of all 14 Commonwealth realms, including Australia and Canada.

Royal Holloway University constitutional expert Craig Prescott said that “might not be a box the Palace want to open” because it may give fuel to the call of doing away with the monarchy’s rule in those areas, the BBC explained.

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