King Charles requested that his younger disgraced brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should have his last reamining title – vice-admiral of the Royal Navy stripped – but it has not yet happened
Defence chiefs have been urged to “get on with it” in stripping disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his last remaining title. It has emerged that despite a request by the King for his younger brother to have his title of vice admiral of the Royal Navy removed, it has not yet been done.
Andrew served in the Royal Navy for 22 years and was a helicopter pilot in the Falklands War. He was awarded the honorary rank of vice-admiral in February 2015 to mark his 55th birthday, in a move approved by his late mother, the Queen. He had been due to have this upgraded to admiral in 2020 to mark his 60th birthday. But this move was scrapped in the wake of his car crash interview on BBC Newsnight, where he talked about his association with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
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At the end of October, the King officially stripped his disgraced brother of his HRH style and his prince title, and removed his dukedom from the Roll of the Peerage over Andrew’s “serious lapses” of judgment.
The move followed the publication of a posthumous memoir by Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Giuffre, and the US government’s release of documents from Epstein’s estate. It emerged that Andrew had emailed Epstein in 2011 saying “we’re in this together”, three months after he claimed he had broken all contact with the paedophile. Andrew denies all wrongdoing.
In the days after the bombshell move, the defence secretary John Healy said the government would remove Andrew’s vice-admiral title. Speaking on the BBC at the time, he said: “This is a move that’s right. It’s a move the King has indicated we should take, and we’re working on that at the moment.”
But the Ministry of Defence (MOD), says the process to remove the title is still ‘ongoing’ but it is not clear what stage it is at or the reason for the delay. A spokesperson said: “Defence continues to act in line with His Majesty’s intent regarding the process to remove the style, titles and honours of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.”
However, Admiral Lord West, the former first sea lord and chief of the naval staff, said it was ‘extraordinary’ it was “taking so long”. He told the Sunday Times: “I cannot see why it is that difficult to remove it. He has paid a penalty for his stupid behaviour and that is right.
“What I would not approve of is if he kept the title, that would not be appropriate with his behaviour. We recently swiftly removed the first sea lord from his position and he had the rank of admiral, so it cannot be that difficult. They should just get on with it.”
In July, married father-of-three Sir Ben Key, a former admiral and first sea lord, lost his rank after it was revealed he had an affair with a junior female colleague.
It comes as the explosive US government Epstein files are set to be released in the coming weeks – with Andrew warned he will not receive any special protection.
Despite alleged attempts in Washington to limit what becomes public, insiders say the former prince “will not be spared,” even as the White House reportedly moves to shield Donald Trump, senior Republicans and wealthy donors from exposure. The revelation comes as political pressure mounts for Andrew to testify before the US Congress about his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Meanwhile, Andrew is also set to have his final Christmas at his Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor, before he is booted out of the property in the New Year.
It came after it emerged he had barely paid rent on the property for years and it was revealed he would be moving to a much smaller property on the King’s private Sandringham estate without his former wife, Sarah Ferguson.
At the time, it was said the move to an unknown house in Norfolk would take place as soon as practically possible, with reports suggesting this would be sometime in the new year.
Bu the move could actually be delayed until February as moving out of such a grand home into a smaller one would take time – and it is unclear if his new home would be ready.
