The King has stripped Andrew of his prince title and ordered him to leave Royal Lodge.
Charles’s younger brother will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, Buckingham Palace announced last night.
Andrew will surrender his lease on his Windsor home and effectively be banished to a property on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk where he will be privately funded by the King.
A palace source said that while his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, would be allowed to continue to live with Andrew at a property in Sandringham, they understood that she was unlikely to do so. It brings to an end decades of cohabitation for the couple, who divorced in 1996.
The King’s decision comes after weeks of fresh revelations over Andrew’s relationship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew continues to deny the allegations against him.
It is understood that the King decided further steps were necessary when Andrew refused to move out of Royal Lodge.
The decision is thought to have been delayed by legal and constitutional complexities, but is supported by the government and wider royal family, including Prince William.
A royal source said: “His Majesty was determined to do the right thing, not the rushed thing.”
The King initiated the process and Andrew did not object, it is understood.
Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne, as the line of succession has not been changed. It is thought that any plan to change the order of succession would undermine the bedrock of the monarchy.
He also remains a Counsellor of State, a member of the royal family able to deputise for the King, although a 2022 amendment stipulated that a non-working member of the royal family would not be allowed to act in the role.
Andrew will not move into his late father’s former home of Wood Farm, but the palace has declined to rule out the possibility that York Cottage could be a potential home for him. The property on the Sandringham estate was originally earmarked for Meghan and Harry before their departure from royal life.
Regardless of which property is allocated to Andrew, it will be an awkward time for him at Christmas when the rest of the family arrive at Sandringham for the traditional get-together.
Andrew’s title as Duke of York is understood to be “extant but unactive”. As the dukedom has not be extinguished, his daughters will continue to be known as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York.
The Times revealed this month that Andrew had only paid “peppercorn” rent on his 30-bedroom grace-and-favour mansion on the Windsor Estate for two decades.
This week it was reported that Andrew had hosted Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein at Royal Lodge months after an arrest warrant had been issued for Epstein for sexually assaulting a minor.
A statement from Buckingham Palace on Thursday evening said: “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.”
Andrew moved into Royal Lodge, Windsor, in 2004
TOLGA AKMEN/EPA
The family of Andrew’s main accuser Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April this year, said on Thursday that she had “brought down a British prince”.
In a statement to the BBC, her family said: “Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.
“Virginia Roberts Giuffre, our sister, a child when she was sexually assaulted by Andrew, never stopped fighting for accountability for what had happened to her and countless other survivors like her.
“Today, she declares a victory. We, her family, along with her survivor sisters, continue Virginia’s battle and will not rest until the same accountability applies to all of her abusers and abetters, connected to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.”
Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, commended the King for “setting a precedent” but told BBC Newsnight: “We need to take it one more step further: he [Andrew] needs to be behind bars, period.”
This month, Andrew gave up his Duke of York title, saying in a statement that “continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the royal family”.
Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s former wife, is not expected to move to Sandringham with him
MAX MUMBY/INDIGO/GETTY IMAGES
Now, after consulting lawyers, courtiers will arrange for the King to sign a royal warrant to start the legal stripping of his brother’s royal titles.
The Times understands the removal process applies to Andrew’s titles of Prince, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh and the style “His Royal Highness”. It is also understood that he will lose the honours Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order.
The King’s decision is said to have the “full support of government” and palace courtiers have been liaising with the prime minister’s office and Cabinet Office on the issue.
The palace said Andrew’s lease on Royal Lodge had, to date, “provided him with legal protection to continue in residence”.
Formal notice on his lease is understood to have been served on Thursday, with the move expected as soon as practical.
It is understood that his future accommodation on the private Sandringham estate will be privately funded by the King, who will provide his brother with an appropriate private provision. Any other sources of income will be a matter for the former duke.
Any compensation that Andrew could be owed for moving out of Royal Lodge early is a matter for the Crown Estate.
A royal source said: “A royal warrant is a document signed by the King, which is an expression of his wishes. It then goes back to government where the wish is drawn up as letters patent.”
Charles’s intention will reverse the letters patent drawn up by his great-grandfather George V in 1917 which stipulated that a child of a monarch and the children of sons of a monarch can be known as Prince or Princess.
The historian Andrew Lownie, author of The Rise and Fall of the House of York, told the BBC the King’s actions might not completely “satisfy the public disquiet”. He said, “I do think that there are grounds for Andrew to be investigated and, if necessary, charged on a whole variety of things ranging from misconduct in public office to some of the sexual trafficking rules.”
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, said on an LBC Radio phone-in: “It must have been a very difficult thing for [Charles] to have done. I mean, having to do that to your own brother.
“But the standards and expectations in society now are very high. People expect to see the very highest levels of integrity.”
Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, said, “The King is absolutely right to strip Prince Andrew of both his titles and his residence at the Royal Lodge.
“It’s clear that Andrew’s position had become totally untenable, having disgraced his office and embarrassed the country.
“This is an important step towards rebuilding trust in our institutions and drawing a line under this whole sorry saga.”