The scandal surrounding Prince Andrew and late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein forced him to step back from royal life in 2019. But on Friday, October 17, Andrew released a statement via Buckingham Palace that he was going "a step further" and would not use his Duke of York title any longer. Speaking to Hello!'s "A Right Royal Podcast," royal biographer Andrew Lownie said the message "was a lost opportunity" for King Charles.
"The statement should have come from King Charles himself—that he'd taken decisive action," the Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York author said. While The King has been tougher on his brother than their mother, Queen Elizabeth, was—with Charles removing his brother's security and cutting him off financially—Lownie added that the monarch "should have actually taken the credit for this."
