UK to Remove Prince Andrew's Last Military Rank After Palace Strips Royal Honours

UK Moves to Strip Prince Andrew of Final Military Rank

The UK government said on Sunday it will move to remove former Prince Andrew's remaining honorary naval rank of vice-admiral, Defence Minister John Healey told the BBC. The action follows King Charles III's decision earlier this week to strip his younger brother of the remaining royal titles and honours amid public anger over Andrew's links to Jeffrey Epstein.

Healey said ministers would be guided by the king when deciding whether Andrew should also be stripped of any military medals. "We've seen Andrew surrender the honorary positions he's had throughout the military... Guided again by the king, we are working now to remove that last remaining title of vice-admiral that he has," he told the Laura Kuenssberg programme.

On Thursday Buckingham Palace issued a sharply worded statement saying, "Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor," and adding that "these censures are deemed necessary" despite his denials. The palace reiterated that the king and queen offer their "utmost sympathies... with the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse."

Andrew, who served 22 years in the Royal Navy and was celebrated for his role as a helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands War, retired in 2001. He has consistently denied allegations by Virginia Giuffre, who in a memoir published in October said she was trafficked and alleged sexual encounters with him, two of which she says occurred when she was 17.

The controversy has roots in Andrew's widely criticised 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, in which his handling of questions about Epstein drew public backlash for seeming to lack empathy toward victims. UK media have reported that Andrew declined to approve statements that referenced the victims following that interview.

Among court documents released in the United States this week was a 2010 email from Andrew to Jeffrey Epstein, written after Epstein's release from jail for prostituting minors, in which Andrew said he planned a trip to New York because it would be "good to catch up in person."

Asked about the saga aboard Air Force One, US President Donald Trump said he felt "badly for the family" and called the situation "terrible."

Royal aides and friends have told media outlets there was a growing sense within the royal household that the voices of victims needed to be heard and that continuing association with Andrew posed reputational risks to the monarchy. The government’s next steps will likely follow further guidance from Buckingham Palace and the king.