Disgraced Andrew breaks cover for first time since title stripping shame

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been seen for the first time since he was stripped of his royal titles and told he needs to move out of his Windsor mansion Royal Lodge

Shamed Andrew has been spotted for the first time since he was stripped of all his royal titles and forced out of his Royal Lodge mansion.

The former prince was seen breaking cover this morning on a horse ride with a companion close to Windsor Castle. It is the first time he has been seen in public since the recent scandal erupted over his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Since it was announced he would be losing his prince and Duke of York titles and would be required to leave Royal Lodge and go and live on the Sandringham estate, Andrew has been holed up inside his mansion while awaiting his house move.

But today marks the first time he has been spotted outside of his home on a horse ride, a hobby he would frequently be seen carrying out on the Windsor estate before the latest scandal erupted.

Andrew being seen in public comes just days before the deadline for him to respond to US Congress after it requested he sit for a “transcribed interview” in connection with his “long-standing friendship” with paedophile financier Epstein.

In the letter, sent to the former prince on earlier this month, the US politicians said their House Oversight Committee had identified “financial records containing notations such as ‘massage for Andrew’ that raise serious questions”.

Requesting he sit for an interview with the committee, the letter read: “We write to seek your co-operation in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s (Committee) investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operations.

“The committee is seeking to uncover the identities of Mr Epstein’s co conspirators and enablers and to understand the full extent of his criminal operations.

“Well-documented allegations against you, along with your long-standing friendship with Mr Epstein, indicate that you may possess knowledge of his activities relevant to our investigation.

“In the interest of justice for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, we request that you co-operate with the committee’s investigation by sitting for a transcribed interview with the Committee.”

Andrew’s links to Epstein eventually led to the King dramatically stripping him of his titles – putting an end to his public life.

The move followed the publication of his main accuser Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoirs, and the US government’s release of documents from the paedophile’s estate.

Ms Giuffre alleged she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times – once at convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell’s home in London, once in Epstein’s address in Manhattan, and once on the disgraced financier’s private island, Little St James.

The incident at Maxwell’s home allegedly occurred when Ms Giuffre was 17 years old. He is accused of taking part in an orgy with “underage” girls, as well as Ms Giuffre, during the alleged incident on Little St James. The former prince vehemently denies all allegations made against him.

Charles demanded the most drastic and unprecedented action to strip Andrew of all of his titles, honours and the trappings of royal life, such as living in his 30 bedroom Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor, to send a clear message “that he had understood and listened to the people”, a royal source previously revealed.

It came after a visit to Staffordshire for an engagement at Lichfield Cathedral earlier this month, saw a man shout at the King asking how long he had known about his Andrew and Epstein, and questioned whether he had asked the police to “cover up” for his disgraced brother.

Meanwhile, the Mirror revealed that Andrew, who proudly defended the Falklands as a helicopter co-pilot, has been wiped from the Islands without a trace.

The disgraced royal has returned to the British overseas territory several times to glittering fanfare, and was invited to open a string of public buildings.

But after the King stripped Andrew of his Prince and Duke titles a fortnight ago, it emerged that every plaque bearing his name there has now been removed. The news will likely come as yet another embarrassing blow for Andrew, who returned as a hero from the 1982 conflict.