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Andrew Mountbatten Windsor should go to the US to answer questions on Jeffery Epstein if asked to do so, a UK government minister has said, as it emerged that the former prince’s name has already been struck from the official roll of the peerage.
Hours after the dramatic statement that King Charles had formally stripped his brother of all titles, including Duke of York, his HRH style and honours, Buckingham Palace said Andrew’s name had been removed from the roll, a move that in effect ends his public life.
The disgraced royal will move out of the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor and into private accommodation on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, with Charles making private financial provision for his brother going forward.
Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will make her own arrangements. Their daughters, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, as daughters of the son of a sovereign, will retain their titles in line with King George V’s letters patent of 1917.
Andrew remains eighth in line of succession to the throne and a counsellor of state, but this role has previously been described as “inactive” as he was a non-working royal.
The justice secretary, David Lammy, as lord chancellor, is responsible for maintaining the roll and was due to be sent royal warrants by the king to remove Andrew’s name, though it remains unclear exactly when it took place.
The trade minister, Chris Bryant, said the government “warmly” supported Charles’s decision. “I think the vast majority of people in this country will think that it’s the right thing to do,” he told BBC Breakfast.
Describing Andrew as now “an ordinary member of the public”, Bryant suggested he should go to the US to answer questions about the crimes of the late paedophile financier Epstein if asked. “I think that just as with any ordinary member of the public, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any decently minded person to comply with that request. So I feel exactly there same in this situation.”
He added: “What I’m basically saying is that I think that if Andrew is asked to do something by a Senate committee then I would have thought that he would want to comply.”
The king’s statement at 7pm on Thursday ended two weeks of difficult negotiations after Andrew said he would voluntarily cease to use his titles, a move that failed to stem negative headlines when it emerged he was fighting to stay in Royal Lodge.
Throughout the process, the palace is understood to have been conscious of the impact the king’s decision would have on Andrew and his family.
Sources indicated that the decision was prompted by serious lapses of judgment over Andrew’s involvement with Epstein. Recent revelations included that Andrew allegedly asked his police protection officer to arrange checks on his sexual assault accuser, Virginia Giuffre.
A leaked email led to claims Andrew lied when he said in his disastrous Newsnight interview that he had ceased contact with Epstein in December 2010, allegedly showing they were still in touch at least three months later. A photograph of the disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein taken at Royal Lodge at what is believed to have been Beatrice’s 18th birthday party also emerged.
The king’s decision was also almost certainly influenced by the posthumous publication of Giuffre’s memoirs, Nobody’s Girl, exclusive extracts from which were published by the Guardian, in which she repeated her allegation – strenuously denied – that she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions while trafficked by Epstein.
Palace sources have indicated that necessity of action was never in doubt. Removing a dukedom would normally require legislation. But the king is understood to have opted to abolish Andrew’s dukedom using his powers of royal prerogative rather than waste parliamentary time that could be spent on important matters of national interest.
The public accounts committee increased the pressure by releasing a list of detailed questions they had sent to the crown estate over Andrew’s 75-year lease on Royal Lodge.
Giuffre’s family said in a statement to the BBC she had “never stopped fighting for accountability”. “Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage,” the statement said.
