Prince Andrew: Duke of York stripped of his military titles

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Buckingham Palace today announced the Duke of York has lost his honorary military roles and royal patronages as he battles a civil sex case in the US. Andrew denies the allegations against him. A royal source added that the Queen’s second son will no longer use his HRH style.

Reacting to the dramatic development, royal commentator Peter Hunt tweeted: “Brutal.

“The Windsors have shown that when the institution is under threat, dynastic preservation trumps flesh and blood.”

Broadcaster Jeremy Vine echoed Mr Hunt, posting: “Buckingham Palace is starting to look even more brutal than the Conservative Party.”

Former Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan wrote: “Utter humiliation for Andrew but he only has himself to blame – and far worse is to come if he continues to try to stonewall his way out of any accountability re the serious allegations against him & his relationship with Epstein/Maxwell.”

Baroness Hoey added: “Her Majesty the Queen as usual acts in the best interest of the UK.

“Noone can be responsible for the behaviour of a member of their family and my sympathy is for Her Majesty on a personal level.”

Nigel Cawthorne, author of Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palace, said: “The palace appears to be running out of patience with Prince Andrew.

“The signal that evidence gathering in the Giuffre would now start in earnest, clearly triggered the stripping of Andrew’s titles and functions.”

The move represents the Duke’s complete removal from official royal life.

A royal source said the issue had been widely discussed with the Royal Family and the military posts would be redistributed to other members.

It comes after more than 150 veterans joined forces to express their outrage, writing to the Queen to demand Andrew was removed from the honorary military positions.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Thursday: “With the Queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen.

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“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”

It comes as Andrew is facing a court showdown after a judge in New York ruled that Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit against him could go ahead.

Ms Giuffre is suing the Duke for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager.

She claims she was trafficked by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with Andrew when she was 17 and a minor under US law.

The Duke has strenuously denied the allegations.

A source close to Andrew said he would “continue to defend himself” against Ms Giuffre’s allegations following the judge’s decision to dismiss his bid to have the case thrown out.

The source said: “Given the robustness with which Judge Kaplan greeted our arguments, we are unsurprised by the ruling.

“However, it was not a judgment on the merits of Ms Giuffre’s allegations. This is a marathon not a sprint and the duke will continue to defend himself against these claims.”

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