Prince Andrew: Public share opinion of royal

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Prince Andrew settled the US civil case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and the Duke sexually assaulted her at the age of 17. The out-of-court settlement was not an admission of guilt as Andrew has vehemently denied all allegations but his reputation remains significantly tarnished.

And now he is facing calls to lose his status as Honorary Freeman of the City of York.

York Central Labour MP Rachael Maskell has presented a ‘Removal of Titles’ Bill, would give the Queen new powers to remove titles, or for a committee of Parliament to determine that a person can be stripped of their title.

The MP said an online survey by local newspaper The Press earlier this year showed that 80 per cent of local residents wanted the current Duke of York to be disassociated with the city.

Currently, the Queen is not even allowed to remove Andrew’s Dukedom.

Ms Maskell said: “There is no mechanism for a title to be removed, meaning that despite much public outcry, Prince Andrew has continued to carry his Duke of York title, even after many of his other titles have been removed by the Queen.

“The Bill will address a deficiency in the law and enabling this titles to be removed.”

It comes after councillors in York, Prince Andrew’s namesake city, voted unanimously to remove his status as Freeman of the city back in April.

They also called on the Government and Buckingham Palace to remove his title altogether.

The Queen conferred the Duke of York title on her son Prince Andrew when he married Sarah Ferguson in 1986, and the Dukedom of York was held by two former kings, King George V and King George VI.

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As a wedding gift, the City of York Council also granted Andrew Honorary Freeman of the City status in 1987.

Ms Maskell added: “York is a Human Rights city and residents made it clear to me in February that they wanted the Duke of York title to be removed from Andrew, the Queen’s second son, in the aftermath of revelations about his personal affairs.

“I have heard the city and sought to explore ways that such a title can be removed, however without new legislation this will not be possible. This legislation will therefore enable either the monarch or a Committee of Parliament to remove titles from disgraced owners of those titles.

“For months now, York as a city has called for its association with Prince Andrew to end.

“After exploring all other avenues, it is clear that an Act of Parliament is the only way we can achieve this.”

The Bill will receive its Second Reading on December 9.

It comes after it was Prince Andrew was forced out of sight at the Garter Day ceremony following reports the Duke of Cambridge threatened not to take part in the day if his uncle was also present.

The decision exposed the internal struggle between senior members of the royal family and the duke’s reported desire to be reinstated as a working royal.

The Queen has previously signalled her support for her son Andrew – rumoured to be her favourite child – by arriving with him for the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service in March.

Andrew provided a steady arm for the Queen as she walked into Westminster Abbey to remember the life of her husband, a few weeks after he reached the multimillion-pound out-of-court settlement.

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