Prince Andrew will also vacate his royal residence and relocate to a private accommodation, the palace stated, three years after he was removed from his role as a senior royal due to his ties to convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” Buckingham Palace said in the announcement. “Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
Although the former Duke of York maintains his denial of any involvement with the disgraced sex offender, he has previously acknowledged that the controversy surrounding him has been a distraction for the royal family.
“In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family. I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life,” Andrew said in a statement shared by Buckingham Palace.
In 2022, Andrew’s late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, removed him from his patronages and military roles, effectively rendering him a royal persona non grata. This action followed the settlement of a sex abuse lawsuit filed against him by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who tragically died by suicide in Australia earlier this year.Since that time, he has appeared publicly solely at family events, including his parents’ funerals and, most recently, in September at the funeral of Britain’s Duchess of Kent, Katharine.”That would take up precious Parliamentary time, preventing Parliament from focusing on urgent national issues. The King is doing all he can within his own Royal Prerogative,” Buckingham Palace said.
