Buckingham Palace has announced that King Charles III has taken the final, decisive step to permanently remove his brother, Prince Andrew, from royal life. In a statement released on Thursday, October 30, 2025, the palace confirmed that the King has “initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.”
As a result of this action, Prince Andrew will be formally stripped of his birthright title of “Prince” and will no longer be styled as “His Royal Highness.” The palace statement declared, “Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.” This formal removal also includes his peerage as the Duke of York and his remaining honours, such as the Order of the Garter.
In a concurrent move, the King has evicted his brother from his longtime home, Royal Lodge in Windsor. The palace statement noted that Andrew’s lease, which had previously provided him with legal protection to remain in the 30-room mansion, has now been formally terminated. “Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation,” the statement read. It is reported he will be moved to a private property on the Sandringham estate, funded by the King.
These “censures,” as the palace termed them, were deemed necessary following mounting public pressure and renewed scrutiny over Andrew’s association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This action comes weeks after Andrew had voluntarily agreed to stop using his Duke of York title.
The palace statement made clear that the decision was final, “notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”
The statement concluded with a direct message to victims: “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.”
