From Prince to Andrew, why King Charles III stripped his brother of his royal titles

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Buckingham Palace said last year that “Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor”. His brother King Charles III’s decision to strip him of his royal titles came after a scandal over his relationship with the king. Jeffrey Epstein. It started with a photo. In March 2001, he posed with Virginia Giuffre (then known as Virginia Roberts) and Ghislaine Maxwell in London in a photo allegedly taken by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. At the time, the photo did not attract public attention. That changed years later as Epstein’s criminal history resurfaced and accusations against powerful associates intensified.

Photo credit: Nina (@ShakeLS X account)Andrew drew even more attention when he was photographed walking with Epstein in New York’s Central Park in December 2010, shortly after Epstein was released from prison following his sex crimes conviction. The photo sparked a backlash in the UK. In 2011, the Daily Mail published an interview with Giuffre alongside the 2001 photo. Although the article did not directly accuse Andrew of wrongdoing, it made the accusation mainstream. A few days later, Andrew sent Epstein an email saying “we’re in this together” and “we’ll have some more soon,” in reference to the negative press — which later resurfaced in court documents, ABC News reported.The controversy escalated in January 2015 when allegations that Andrew had sex with a minor were made public as part of US proceedings involving Epstein. That same month, the Daily Mail identified Giuffre as the alleged victim and detailed the account. Andrew has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. In July 2019, Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges, and things became tense again. After Epstein was found dead in his cell in August 2019, attention turned sharply to his high-profile relationships.

Andrew decides to resign from public office

In November 2019, Andrew attempted to calm the storm with a lengthy BBC television interview in which he denied the sexual abuse allegations, questioned the authenticity of the 2001 photos, and claimed that he had severed ties with Epstein in December 2010. The interview was widely criticized. Within days, Andrew announced that he would be retiring from public duties “for the foreseeable future” and acknowledged that his relationship with Epstein had become a “significant distraction” for the royal family.

Ex-prince stripped of military titles, royal patronage

In September 2021, Giuffre filed a civil sexual assault lawsuit against Andrew in the United States, and legal pressure increased. Although British police said in October 2021 that they would take no further action after reviewing the available evidence, a US judge rejected Andrew’s attempt to dismiss the civil case in January 2022. Soon after, he was stripped of his honorary military titles and royal patronage, but retained his status as Prince and Duke of York.In 2022, he agreed to pay Giuffre millions of dollars to settle a civil sexual assault lawsuit she filed against him.The impact continued in subsequent years. In 2024, reports emerged that Andrew would have to personally fund the maintenance of the 30-room royal villa if he wanted to stay there. Court documents later revealed in 2025 revealed that an email saying “We are in this together” – which British media believed was sent by Andrew – sparked renewed scrutiny.

Giuffre dies

The death in April 2025 of Virginia Giuffre, described by her family as a “courageous fighter in the fight against sexual abuse and trafficking”, closed a tragic chapter but did not quell the debate over Andrew’s behavior and the monarchy’s handling of the scandal.All told, a series of accusations, legal battles and public missteps have slowly eroded Andrew’s official role in the royal family.On Thursday, what would have been Andrew’s 66th birthday, he was arrested on suspicion of official misconduct as part of an investigation related to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. He is believed to be the first senior member of the modern British royal family to be detained by police.Andrew was born in 1960, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, while his older brother Charles is the heir to the throne. Like many young royal sons before him, Andrew followed the traditional path of military service but was later stripped of those titles. Although he was still a prince at birth, the Epstein saga effectively ended his public career—a dramatic fall caused not by a single incident but by years of mounting controversy.Police are investigating after newly released documents related to Jeffrey Epstein suggested Andrew may have shared official government documents with the financier during his time as trade envoy. He has not been charged with any crime and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in his relationship with Epstein.

Undated photo released and edited by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the Epstein files. Andrew leans on an unidentified person (Image: AP)