Prince Andrew: Only parliament can strip Duke's title says expert

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Today, the Duke of York celebrates his birthday but Andrew won’t have the union flag flown to mark the occasion in Belfast after the City Council decided to fly it on another date instead. Typically Belfast City Hall flies the union flag on set days since a vote in December 2012 to end its permanent display.

However, Belfast City Councillors decided the union flag should be flown on July 1 to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme instead.

The decision from the council came amid a civil suit brought against Andrew in New York last summer by one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre.

She alleges that the prince sexually assaulted her at three different locations – the Duke of York has vehemently denied all claims.

The declaration to not mark his birthday has been interpreted as a snub for the Duke who will now not receive the honour.

Traditionally the flying of the flag is granted for nine members of the Royal Family to mark their date of birth.

Now the Duke could be issued a further blow as a public affairs expert has warned that Andrew’s birthday should not be addressed publicly on social media by other members of the Firm, particularly Her Majesty.

Typically birthdays of members of the Firm are marked on the Royal Family’s social media accounts.

The main ‘Royal Family’ account is used to share updates from members of the Firm who don’t have their own pages, including the Queen.

However, Babar Khan Javed, the director of public affairs at Z2C Limited, has warned that there is “no reason” to mark Andrew’s birthday this year, particularly after the Duke returned his honorary military titles and royal patronages to the Queen.

The certified specialist in public affairs and a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in London claims Her Majesty made the decision to strip him of his titles to “protect the brand and reputation” of the Firm.

He claims if a birthday post was shared for the royal it would “only damage the Queen’s efforts to protect the sanctity of her position and the integrity of the institution.”

Babar told Express.co.uk: “The Queen stripped Prince Andrew of all his military and royal duties, roles, and titles in an apparent effort to help protect the brand and reputation of Britain’s Royal Family.

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“Having distanced themselves from him, there is no reason to mark his birthday on the 19th by the Queen’s social media team on the Royal Family Twitter page.

“By sticking to her actions, the Queen’s subjects will continue to respect and treasure the monarchy she leads.

“Marking his birthday on any social media under the Royal Family will only damage the Queen’s efforts to protect the sanctity of her position and the integrity of the institution for future rulers.”

Andrew’s birthday was last marked by the account in 2020, but a post was not shared for the royal in 2021.

Babar Khan Javed went on to add that if the Queen does snub Andrew by not marking the occasion, “she is demonstrating leadership in the face of a difficult decision”.

He claims this would be an example of the monarch “reinforcing her subjects’ belief that their Queen can separate her official responsibilities to the State from her personal ones as a mother, grandmother, and wife.”

When reflecting on the possibility of a backlash to not marking Andrew’s birthday, he added “there shouldn’t be any since Queen Elizabeth II herself is a reminder to everyone that she’s in control, exhibiting positive and declarative language.”

On Tuesday, court documents declared Prince Andrew had reached a “settlement in principle” with his accuser in their ongoing civil case.

In the document filed to the US court, it also states Andrew regrets “his association” with Epstein.

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