THE QUEEN is “following the same model as Megxit as she BANISHES Prince Andrew from the Royal Family” and strips his titles, it’s been claimed.
Her Majesty and her advisers allegedly used similar tactics to “insulate the institution” amid the issues with both Meghan and Harry and with Prince Andrew.
Andrew was dramatically STRIPPED of his royal title and all military honours after a face-to-face showdown with the Queen.
The bombshell news was announced by Buckingham Palace and comes amid growing anger at the Duke of York’s sex assault lawsuit.
Insiders said the decision to reduce Andrew – often called her “favourite son” – to a “private citizen” was one of the hardest in Her Majesty’s 70 years on the throne.
And a well-placed palace source said the Queen and her advisers had decided to follow “the same model of effective banishment” with Andrew as she had with Harry, according to the Mail.
Harry and Meghan sensationally quit the Royal Family in 2020 and moved to the US – where they now live with their two children Archie and Lilibet.
Andrew will now no longer be able to use his title ‘His Royal Highness’ – two years after Prince Harry lost his royal title and patronages when he moved to the US with Meghan.
The source said: “They have taken this decision to insulate the institution from being hit by all the shrapnel that is flying around.
“It follows the same model as the Sussex separation. The removal of titles and patronages means the institution can now legitimately say it is not involved.
“It was a ruthless and swift decision which will have been recommended by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge and sanctioned by the Queen.”
Another insider, who is said to know the Queen well, said: “She has the ability, when push comes to shove, to know what is best for the institution and will act in her role as head of state, not a mother.
“She loves Andrew and this doesn’t mean he is no longer her son.
“But a decision had to be made as it was overshadowing everything the family did and her forthcoming platinum jubilee.
“Everyone will be feeling very relieved he has finally been cut adrift. It may even help him to have more clarity in fighting the case.”
Andrew’s military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen with immediate effect after he was accused of sexually assaulting Virginia Roberts Giuffre when she was just 17.
The Queen cuts Andrew adrift…
- Prince Andrew has been stripped of all his military titles
- He will no longer be able to use ‘His Royal Highness’ in any official capacity
- He was told the decision in a face-to-face meeting with Her Majesty
- The decision was approved by the Queen – but discussed ‘widely with the Royal Family’
- Andrew can’t ‘hide behind’ his royal privledges and is fighting the sex abuse lawsuit ‘as a private citizen’
- He will not undertake any public duties, the Palace confirmed
- Prince Andrew’s former titles will be distributed among other members of the royal family
The Duke will also no longer be able to use ‘His Royal Highness’ – and will face his US lawsuit as a “private citizen” meaning he can’t hide behind royal privileges.
It comes after a judge sensationally gave the go-ahead for a civil trial before a jury in New York later this year.
The royal, 61, vehemently denies any wrongdoing.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen.
“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”
In time, his titles will be redistributed to other family members, according to a royal source.
Prince Andrew denies claims Giuffre was forced to have sex him more than 20 years ago at Ghislaine Maxwell’s London home when she was just 17.
Her allegations have dogged Andrew since she first made them in 2011, when a now infamous photograph emerged of him with his hand around her.
Giuffre’s feared lawyer David Boies will grill the royal in front of jurors under oath – and could also question Andrew’s former wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, and their daughter Princess Beatrice.
The ruling is the latest setback for Andrew, who has tried to disassociate himself from Maxwell and her paedo ex Jeffrey Epstein.
Senior royal aides are all urging Andrew to settle as soon as possible to prevent him from dragging the “whole monarchy through the mud”.
NO MORE HRH
And Andrew is set to pay £10million from the sale of his Swiss chalet in an out-of-court settlement with his accuser Giuffre, The Celeb Report reported today.
Meanwhile, royal experts have said that returning his military titles was “right” considering the hot water Prince Andrew is in.
Royal author and former government minister Norman Baker said:
“It is absolutely right that Andrew has now returned his military titles to the Queen.
“It had become an embarrassment all round, not least for the military, for him to continue for example to be colonel-in-chief of the Grenadier Guards.
“The fact that the Palace is now describing him as a private citizen in respect of his court case tells us he has well and truly been chucked under the royal bus, yet the royal family cannot escape the immense damage that will increase as the American court case progresses.
“Can he now even stay as Duke of York, or having been marched up that hill by the Queen, will he be marched down again?”
Royal author Angela Levin said the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Cornwall would have been “furious” with the Duke of York for bringing the Royal Family into disrepute.
‘EXTRAORDINARY DECISION’
Angela Levin told The Celeb Report Online: “If the Queen asked Prince Charles and Prince William they would have been very firm, Prince William and Prince Charles have been absolutely furious with him bringing the Royal Family into disrepute.
“Whatever he may or may not have done he certainly was a friend of Epstein and invited him to parties, royal parties when they knew he had been accused of having relationships with underage girls.
“So there’s no doubt about that. I would imagine that this time the Queen would also listen to her aides.
“But she also has strong views so if she didn’t want to do it, she wouldn’t have done it – she obviously felt they’d crossed a red line.”
Angela Levin added: “I am astonished that the Palace has operated so quickly.
“I think they must be absolutely furious with him – because they haven’t just put aside the HRH title, they have said he’s got to face the case as a private citizen and I think that is capital letters for him as to how he must now behave and take it seriously.
“But now it’s like having cold water thrown in your face to wake you up.
“I also felt the Palace had to act very fast because this anti-monarchy group that’s got former members of the navy and the army writing to the Queen herself saying they don’t want him to carry on being patron.”
