The City of York has stripped Prince Andrew of his honorary freedom after a vote by councillors.
This means that the Queen’s second-eldest son has lost yet another title, after he already lost his military titles and royal patronages. As of January, he no longer uses the style His Royal Highness.
On Wednesday, York councillors voted unanimously to remove Andrew’s Honorary Freedom of the City of York status, which he was granted as a wedding gift in February 1987.
It comes after the prince reached a multi-million pound agreement to settle the sex abuse claim made against him by Virginia Giuffre last year.
Giuffre, who was a sex trafficking victim of Jeffrey Epstein, accused the royal of sexually abusing her while she was underage in the US. Andrew has consistently denied the allegations and said he does not recall ever meeting Giuffre.
In February, he agreed to pay more than £10 million, including damages to Giuffre and a donation to charity to stop the case proceeding to a civil trial.
Several councillors have also called for Andrew to be stripped of his title as Duke of York in order to remove what has been described as “this stain of an association with this city”.
But will Andrew lose his dukedom and what will it mean for the royal?
Is Prince Andrew still the Duke of York?
Yes. The title of nobility in the Peerage of the UK was bestowed on Andrew by the Queen.
The Duke of York title is usually given to the second son of British monarchs, and previously belonged to Prince Albert, who went on to become King George VI, and his father before him, King George V.
Will Prince Andrew remain the Duke of York?
Yes, he will most likely keep the title until his death, upon which it will be reverted to the Crown.
Any attempt to remove his title would have to go through Parliament and cannot be stripped by the Queen alone.
Andrew, who shares two daughters with his former wife Sarah Ferguson, has no male heirs and therefore he cannot pass the title down to a son as per tradition.
If his title is returned to the Crown, a future monarch will then have the ability to bestow the title as a royal Duchy.
Should Prince Andrew remain as Duke of York?
The prince’s association with the pedophile Epstein has led to numerous calls over recent years for him to be stripped of the noble title.
Earlier this year, Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, said her mailbox had been “absolutely rammed” with people demanding that Andrew be stripped of his dukedom.
She told the Guardian in February that she met with officials of the House of Commons to explore ways of forcing him to give up the title following his settlement with Giuffre.
On Wednesday, councillor Darryl Smalley, the City of York Council’s executive member for culture, leisure and communities, called on Andrew to “do the right thing” and voluntarily relinquish the title.
“If [Andrew] fails to do so, Buckingham Palace and the government must step in to remove his title to finally end Prince Andrew’s connection to York,” he said.
Labour councillor Aisling Musson added: “I feel we also need to remove the title because we owe it to the people of York, particularly those who have been affected by sexual violence, abuse and human trafficking.”
The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment
