Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is to be stripped of his honorary rank of vice-admiral – it comes after King Charles stripped his brother of every royal title and styling
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Prince Andrew: King Charles to formally remove titles and honours
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, will be stripped of another title.
Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed this morning that the disgraced ex-Duke is to be stripped of his honorary rank of vice-admiral. It comes after King Charles took every royal title and styling away from his brother.
Andrew was made a vice-admiral on his 55th birthday in 2015 and retained the rank after giving up his other military positions in 2022.
Mr Healey told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “In general, the Government’s been guided by the decisions and judgments the King has made.
“In defence, it’s exactly the same. And we’ve seen Andrew surrender the honorary positions he’s had throughout the military, and guided again by the King, we are working now to remove that last remaining title of vice-admiral that he has.”
Asked whether Andrew could lose his military medals as well, Mr Healey said they were “medals for his service”, and added: “I don’t have an update for you on that, but just as with his vice-admiral rank and title, we would be guided by the decisions the King makes.”
This comes after it was reported Andrew will be denied most of his half a million pound compensation for giving up his lease on Royal Lodge.
The monarch’s disgraced brother was due a payout of £558,000 from the Crown Estate after agreeing to quit the 30-room mansion amid the furore over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
But a royal source admitted there is “a lot of work that needs doing” to the property in Windsor Great Park, and the cost of repairs is likely to affect the amount of compensation he receives, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.
The former prince will, however, receive a one-off, six figure payment to cover his move, plus an annual stipend privately funded by the King to prevent him from “overspending in his new life as a commoner”.
The annual payment will be worth several times his £20,000-a-year Navy pension, The Guardian newspaper reported.
It is understood the King will use private funds to cover the cost, but not his Duchy of Lancaster income.
The King receives an annual private income of more than £27 million from the duchy, an ancient portfolio of land, property and assets which is held in trust for the sovereign.
Andrew, the late Queen’s second son, is to move to a smaller home on the King’s private Sandringham estate in Norfolk in the new year, completing his internal exile, after agreeing to quit Royal Lodge, where he had paid a peppercorn rent for more than 20 years.
Charles dramatically stripped his younger brother of his prince and Duke of York titles on Thursday, cementing his banishment from public life.
Andrew had tainted the reputation of the royal family over his association with Epstein and, for many years, has been dogged by allegations he sexually abused Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by the financier.
He has strenuously denied the allegations.
