While Prince Andrew has abandoned the use of his Duke of York title, he still retains it in force.
In a statement on Friday, he acknowledged that the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Virginia Giuffre’s sexual abuse allegations and the latest Chinese spy scandal surrounding him took attention away from the royal family’s charitable works.
“Therefore, I will no longer use my title or the honor that has been bestowed upon me,” he said.
Now broadcaster and historian Rafe Heydel-Mankoo has pointed out that although Andrew has decided not to use his royal titles, only Parliament can actually strip him of the titles, including the Duke of York title.
Taking to X, he wrote: “Prince Andrew has not been formally stripped of his titles. Legally he remains HRH The Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh, KG, GCVO. However, he has agreed that he will not use or be known by any of these titles, styles and honours…”
He added: “…Only Parliament can strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom.”
“This has not been done since the Titles Deprivation Act 1917, which removed peerages from people deemed to be enemies of the United Kingdom during the Great War,” he further explained.
He continued: “Depriving Prince Andrew of his dukedom may be considered at a future date should further scandals emerge, but the Government/Parliament must be convinced that it is worth spending valuable parliamentary time to pass such an action…”
