Prince Andrew could be stripped of his Duke of York title under proposed law – after ‘80%’ of people living in historic city wanted their association with disgraced royal officially ‘broken’
- Prince Andrew could be stripped of his Duke of York title under proposed law
- ‘80%’ of people living in city want association with disgraced royal ‘broken’
- Labour MP Rachael Maskell called for Queen to have power to remove titles
- Ms Maskell said her constituents made clear they wanted duke’s title removed
Prince Andrew could be stripped of his Duke of York title under proposed law tabled in Parliament after ‘80%’ of people living in the historic city want their association with the disgraced royal officially ‘broken’.
The royal has faced fresh calls to lose his Duke of York title – which he was given by the Queen on his wedding day in 1986 – following the multi-million-pound out-of-court settlement with his accuser Virginia Giuffre earlier this year.
There is currently no mechanism for such a title to be removed, but Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, is seeking to address the gap in the law via her Removal of Titles Bill.
It aims to give the monarch new powers to remove titles or a committee of Parliament to determine that a title should be taken away.
Ms Maskell said her constituents made it clear to her that they wanted the Duke of York’s title to be removed, particularly given York’s recognition as a Human Rights City.
Dignitaries in the city had previously called for him to be stripped of the title for causing ‘deep hurt and embarrassment’ to residents due to his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Before the case was settled in February, the Queen, 96, decided to strip her son of his remaining military affiliations and patronages and forced him to stop using the His Royal Highness title in any official capacity.
It comes after councillors voted unanimously to removed his Freedom of the City of York in April and branded him ‘an utter disgrace’ during the extraordinary meeting to debate his Freedom of the City honour, which was awarded to him in 1987
Pictured: Prince Andrew who was pictured driving while leaving Windsor on Monday
The Duke of York pictured with his accuser Virginia Roberts and Ghislaine Maxwell
There is currently no mechanism for such a title to be removed, but Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, is seeking to address the gap in the law via her Removal of Titles Bill
His continued clinging to the title Duke of York was described as as ‘stain’ on the city and councillors are now calling on the Queen, Palace or government to step in and strip him of the title if he refuses ‘to do the right thing’ and resign.
Ms Maskell argued there is already a ‘culture clash’ when it comes to conversations around tackling violence against women and girls in the city.
She stressed the proposed legislation could also have ‘wider implications’ for individuals like Lord Lebedev, the Russian-born businessman who was awarded a peerage in 2020, as he could also be stripped of his title.
Ms Maskell also said there is ‘definite interest’ from across the Commons and even the Lords to put in place a mechanism that would deal with the issue of ‘people who have not lived up to public expectation’.
She said: ‘Back in February, when we had the focus on the court case, which was being brought against Andrew, my constituents responded that 80% of people wanted the association with the current Duke of York to be broken. And therefore, I met with the clerks here in the Commons to see how it can be achieved.’
Andrew at York Racecourse to open the new weighing room in May 2015
Fresh calls have been made for Andrew to lose his dukedom (York Minster is pictured)
She added: ‘There are no mechanisms in place, even for the monarch, to remove the title. The only real way it could be done is for Andrew to no longer call himself, by choice, the Duke of York.
‘The problem is, particularly with an international city like York, that using a title like the Duke of York is an ambassadorial role, it carries the name of our city across the world.
‘And it’s a city, which is a Human Rights City, the only Human Rights City in England. We are already in a culture clash when we are talking about violence against women and girls and the issues that we are really working hard on in the city, about making York a very safe place.’
She went on: ‘If this principle can be established, then obviously it could have wider implications.’
Ms Maskell highlighted the case of disgraced peer Lord Nazir Ahmed, adding: ‘Therefore, it could have wider implications about how the legislation could then be used to remove titles of people who have not lived up to public expectations.’
Lord Ahmed was convicted earlier this year of twice trying to rape a girl and sexually assaulting a boy under 11 in the early 1970s.
Pictured: The Queen and Prince Andrew at the memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh on March 29
Meanwhile, disgraced Prince Andrew, pictured during the Falklands War, is reportedly furious at his brother Prince Charles and his nephew Prince William for keeping him out of the Royal Garter ceremony last week
In January, Conservative MP for Rother Valley Alexander Stafford started a petition in the wake of the verdicts, calling for Lord Ahmed to be stripped of his title.
The presentation to Parliament of Ms Maskell’s Bill, which is due to receive its second reading on December 9, comes not long after York Council decided to strip Andrew of his Freedom of the City.
Andrew had already given up several patronages in both the city and the county in 2019, after stepping down from royal duties due to his relationship with convicted sex offender Epstein. The age of consent in the UK is 16.
In her lawsuit, Ms Giuffre accused Andrew of sexual abuse, saying the duke had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the late Epstein.
Although the parties settled the case in February, the out-of-court agreement was not an admission of wrongdoing by from the duke, who has always strenuously denied the allegations against him.
On Sunday, it was revealed that Andrew, 62, had been effectively barred from having the flag adorn government buildings for his birthday after the Queen and Prince Charles became the only royals to keep the privilege.
The flag flying days for 2022 which appear to have been changed on February 11 this year also stripped royals William, Kate, Anne, Edward, Camilla and Sophie of the privilege.
Prince William, Prince Andrew and Prince Charles are pictured together at the funeral of Prince Philip. William is lobbying the Queen to have his uncle Andrew barred from public life
‘[William] has strong views on the Duke of York and believes his insistence in trying to cling on to a public role is highly dangerous for the institution,’ said a friend (pictured: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (L) and Britain’s Prince Andrew, Duke of York (R) in 2018)
It came as the shamed royal faced further woes after lawyers for an alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein threatened to serve him with legal papers.
Representatives for Caroline Kaufman say Andrew was visiting Epstein’s home in New York on the night she claims she was raped by the paedophile financier in December 2010.
They want the Duke of York to provide a statement as a potential witness to events in the Upper East Side townhouse during his visit when he was pictured inside the building.
The civil lawsuit does not accuse the duke of any wrongdoing or allege that he was aware of any attack on Miss Kaufman, who was 17 at the time.
But her lawyer’s comments come just a week after Andrew, 62, was reported to have lobbied the Queen to return his royal duties and ceremonial roles.
Spencer Kuvin, who represents Miss Kaufman, now 28, said he wanted Andrew to give a statement about his visit to the New York townhouse.
The latest accusations come amid rumours Prince William is lobbying the Queen to have his uncle Andrew barred from public life.
‘He has strong views on the Duke of York and believes his insistence in trying to cling on to a public role is highly dangerous for the institution,’ a friend of William told the Daily Mail.
The friend added: ‘He would have cut him loose a long time ago if it had been up to him.
‘He understands that when it comes to mother and son the situation is complicated, but honestly I think he just wishes he would vanish from public view.’
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