It was one scandal too many.<\/p>\n
After emails emerged this week showing that Prince Andrew<\/a> remained in contact with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein<\/a> longer than he previously admitted, the House of Windsor finally moved to insulate the monarchy from years of tawdry headlines<\/a> about Andrew’s dodgy friends and suspicious business deals. <\/p>\n Buckingham Palace on Friday released a statement from Andrew saying that he had agreed to give up use of his last remaining royal titles so that continued allegations about him \u201cdon\u2019t distract from the work of His Majesty.\u201d<\/p>\n This week\u2019s revelations demonstrated that Andrew had committed the unforgivable sin of misleading the British public, said Craig Prescott, an expert on the monarchy and constitutional law at Royal Holloway University of London.<\/p>\n \u201cTo say something which is proven not to be true, I think, is the straw that broke the camel\u2019s back,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n The move comes as Charles,<\/a> who is 76 and undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, works to ensure the long-term stability of the monarchy under his son and heir Prince William.<\/a><\/p>\n William recently gave an interview in which he set out his vision for the monarchy, saying that the institution needed to change to make sure that it is a force for good.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some ways, Prince Andrew has been the exact opposite of that,\u201d Prescott said. \u201cAnd there is no space for that in the modern monarchy.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrew, 65, is the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II. He spent more than 20 years as an officer in the Royal Navy before leaving to take up his royal duties in 2001.<\/p>\n Following Friday\u2019s announcement, Andrew will no longer use his remaining royal titles, including the Duke of York, though he technically retains them. Formally stripping him of those titles would be a time-consuming process requiring an act of Parliament.<\/p>\n Andrew\u2019s banishment completes a process that began in November 2019, when he gave up all of his public duties<\/a> and charity roles.<\/p>\n That was triggered by a disastrous interview Andrew gave to the BBC as he sought to counter media reports about his friendship with Epstein and deny allegations that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl, Virginia Giuffre,<\/a> who was trafficked by Epstein in 2001. The prince was widely criticized for failing to show empathy for Epstein\u2019s victims and for offering unbelievable explanations for his friendship with the disgraced financier.<\/p>\n The interview also sowed the seeds of this week\u2019s upheaval, when Andrew told the BBC that he had cut off contact with Epstein in December 2010.<\/p>\n British newspapers on Sunday revealed that Andrew wrote an email to Epstein on Feb. 28, 2011. Andrew wrote the note after renewed reporting on the Epstein scandal, telling him they were \u201cin this together\u201d and would \u201chave to rise above it.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrew has recently faced another round of grimy stories as newspapers release excerpts of Giuffre\u2019s posthumous memoir, which will be published on Tuesday. Giuffre died by suicide in April at the age of 41.<\/p>\n Andrew in 2022 reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre<\/a> after she filed a civil suit against him in New York. While he didn\u2019t admit wrongdoing, Andrew did acknowledge Giuffre\u2019s suffering as a victim of sex trafficking.<\/p>\n The prince has been the subject of tabloid stories stretching back to at least 2007, when he sold his house near Windsor Castle for 20% over the 15 million pound asking price. The buyer was reported to be Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of Nursultan Nazarbayev, then-president of Kazakhstan, raising concerns that the deal was an attempt to buy influence in Britain.<\/p>\n Last year, a court case revealed Andrew\u2019s relationship with a businessman and suspected Chinese spy<\/a> who was barred from the United Kingdom as a threat to national security. Authorities were concerned that the man could have misused his influence<\/a> over Andrew, according to court documents.<\/p>\n While the palace said Andrew had decided to give up his royal titles, royal commentator Jennie Bond said the king and Prince William exerted \u201cenormous pressure\u201d on him.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could say he has fallen on his sword, but I think he\u2019s been pushed onto it,\u201d Bond told the BBC. \u201cI don\u2019t think this is a decision that Andrew, quite an arrogant man \u2014 very, very fond of his status \u2014 would have willingly made without a lot of pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n