Four plaques proudly unveiled by the former Prince have been removed from public buildings on the Falkland Islands – which the former Prince defended during the 1982 conflict
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who proudly defended the Falklands as a helicopter co-pilot, has been wiped from the Islands without a trace, the Mirror can reveal.
The disgraced royal, formerly Prince Andrew, 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, we can reveal 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. Last night Kaylee Smith, 33, who was born and brought up on the Islands, said: “Andrew has rightfully been stripped of his titles and plaques – he has brought shame upon his family and the country he once represented.”
Andrew, 65, returned to the Falklands three years after the war to open the £300million Mount Pleasant Airport. Pictures from a newspaper article at the time show the then-Prince unveiling a plaque in the terminal building in front of a cheering crowd.
Thousands turned out for the ceremony, with many waving placards reading “British forever.” And he was later presented with a silver engraved map of the Islands before meeting construction workers behind the project.
But we can reveal the wall hanging has now been removed. And airport officials say they wiped all association with the former Duke after his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein came to light. The Ministry of Defence, which runs the RAF base, added: “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.”
Andrew paid another visit to the Islands in 2002 and opened several more buildings, including a new block at the Infant Junior School in capital Stanley. After drawing the curtains on a plaque, he toured the facilities with teachers and governors before watching students play a ball game.
But he’s now been wiped from the school’s history – with a representative this week confirming: “The plaque has been taken down and the Duke of York is no longer connected to our school.”
As patron of the Islands’ Falklands Conservation trust, Andrew later travelled to New Island to open an environmental field station and launched an ‘Adopt a Penguin’ scheme. But a staff member at the wildlife centre told us: “He was removed as patron and the plaque at the field centre has gone.”
A tablet bearing Andrew’s name at the Falklands KEMH Hospital was taken down in 2022 when he reached an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sleeping with her when she was 17. Member of parliament for the territory John Birmingham said at the time: “Renovation work is underway, and given that the Prince is retiring from public life, the plaque bearing his name will be given to the Falklands Museum.”
The former prince served in the Royal Navy for 22 years. During the military conflict with Argentina over the Falkland Islands he was a Sea King helicopter co-pilot, with one of his tasks being to act as a decoy for Argentina’s Exocet missiles. The two-month-long war between April and June 1982 began when Argentina invaded the British-held Islands and ended when Argentine forces surrendered.
He returned from the conflict a hero and was famously greeted at the end of the gangplank in Portsmouth by his mother Elizabeth II, who handed him a red rose, which he put between his teeth. He was awarded the South Atlantic Medal, known as the Falklands Medal and a rosette – the only accolades he’s been allowed to keep.
He has lost his princehood, dukedom, Order of the Garter knighthood and military titles. He has also been stripped of his patronage for the Falkland Islands memorial chapel in Reading.
The removal of plaques he unveiled on the Islands will come as yet another humiliating blow for Andrew. Last night a source said: “Andrew’s connection with the Falklands was his last remaining source of pride. The fact his name has now been stripped from key public buildings there will be truly devastating for him.”
It comes after we revealed north London NHS hospital Chase Farm removed a plaque he unveiled in its entrance hall. Plaques bearing his name have also been removed at the Universities of Manchester, Huddersfield and Newcastle.
After the King stripped Andrew of his Prince and Duke of York titles, the family of Virginia Giuffre said she had “brought down a British Prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.” Virginia, who ended her own life earlier this year, claimed she was introduced to Andrew at Maxwell’s London townhouse and later that evening was forced to have sex with him. He vehemently denies ever meeting her.
She also claimed to have had sex with Andrew at Epstein’s New York flat and at an “orgy'” on his private island Little St James in the Caribbean.
Andrew is to be evicted from Windsor’s Royal Lodge where he lived with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and move to Norfolk’s Sandringham estate. The move will be privately funded by Charles. He also faces the threat of a private prosecution by anti-monarchy pressure group Republic over allegations of sexual assault, misconduct in a public office and corruption.
His long friendship with Epstein emerged in 2011, by which time the fiend had already been sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution. But it was Andrew’s “car crash” interview on Newsnight with presenter Emily Matlis in 2019 that canned his public career as a working royal.
It later emerged he had emailed Epstein in 2011, just a day after the emergence of the photo depicting Andrew with his accuser, stating they were “in this together” – despite his claims on Newsnight that he had severed all contact. Files published earlier this week include an email from Andrew forwarded by Maxwell via Epstein, saying: “This has nothing to do with me. I can’t take any more of this.”
It follows outrage from British veterans on Friday after a new £10 million Falklands War museum in Argentina claimed 1,200 UK troops died – nearly five times the real figure of 255. They accused the Argentinian government of “a pathetic attempt to rewrite history” at the state-run museum in Patagonia.
