The disgraced former prince, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, will be allowed to keep his service medals, including one earned after fighting in the Falklands War, despite being stripped of all his other royal titles and honours.
Confirmation came days after the UK Government said it would remove Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s honorary rank of vice admiral, his “last remaining title”.
Meanwhile, Andrew – who will move from Royal Lodge in the new year – is just months away from being eligible to claim an $18k pension on top of the one he receives for serving in the Royal Navy.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor will keep his service medals and can soon claim a state pension, on top of his Royal Navy one. (Getty)
Overnight, Buckingham Palace confirmed to The Telegraph UK that Andrew’s Falklands War campaign medal will be retained alongside all operational service medals.
Andrew served in the Royal Navy for 22 years, from May 1979 until July 2001.
He saw active service during the Falklands War in 1982 and served as a Sea King helicopter co-pilot.
He was commissioned in the Royal Navy as a sub-lieutenant in 1981, and had served for just nine weeks when Argentina invaded.
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The former prince served in the Royal Navy for 22 years. (Getty)
Andrew was warmly welcomed back to the UK by the late Queen Elizabeth II, who presented her son with a rose at the end of his deployment.
For his service, Andrew was awarded the South Atlantic Medal, known as the Falklands Medal.
Fellow veterans have said it would be “morally indefensible” to remove a medal earned through service.
Andrew, who served on HMS Invincible, was welcomed back to the UK by his mother Queen Elizabeth after serving in the Falklands War. (Nine)
“He has lost all other aspects of dignity, respect and honour he was ever once shown,” Simon Weston, 64, who also served in the conflict, told the publication.
“But the one thing you cannot strip away from the man no matter how vindictive, vicious or virtue-signalling you want to be is that moment in his life where he was dignified, honourable and courageous.
“He earned this. He paid for it with time and sacrifice. How dare you think you can take this from him.”
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor will be allowed to retain his service medals, including one earned after fighting in the Falklands War. (Getty)
Weston added: “Who he has been involved with is abhorrent… but it’s not right to take his medal away.”
On Sunday, the UK’s Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed the government would remove Andrew’s rank of vice admiral, his “last remaining title”.
The decision was made on advice of King Charles, two weeks after Buckingham Palace announced the monarch had stripped Andrew of all remaining titles including that of prince.
Andrew eligible to claim government pension
Meanwhile, come February, Andrew will be eligible to claim the state pension next year, worth around $18k (£9,000 annually).
While members of the royal family are not entitled to the state pension, the former Duke of York is eligible because he was employed, serving in the Royal Navy for 22 years.
Once he turns 66, on February 19, he can begin drawing the pension.
However, it will be up to Andrew whether he chooses to claim this or not.
A royal source told The Telegraph UK: “It’s up to him”.
King Charles is also currently entitled to the state pension due to his own service in the Navy, but donates the full amount to Age UK, a charity dedicated to supporting older people and their carers.
Andrew is also entitled to a pension from the Navy, worth an estimated $40k (£20,000).
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But there have long been questions around the true extent of his fortune.
King Charles will now fund his brother’s upkeep from his private Sandringham estate, in Norfolk, after Andrew agreed to leave Royal Lodge.
The monarch has also agreed to reinstate Andrew’s annuity, paid from Charles’s private funds, after the allowance was withdrawn last year.
The former prince will also receive a one-off, six-figure relocation fee.
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