Britain’s Prince Andrew Has Officially Given Up His Royal Titles Over Ties To American Sex Offender Jeffrey Epstein
Prince Andrew confirmed he’s no longer a working member of the royal family and said the “continued accusations” around him have become a distraction from the royal family’s work.
Britain’s Prince Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles, has officially given up his royal titles over ties to the late American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Pressure has been building for years ever since Andrew’s connection and friendship with Epstein, a pedophile and convicted US sex offender and sex trafficker.
Their relationship dates back to 1999 when Andrew first met Epstein.
In March 2001, Virginia Giuffre, previously Virginia Roberts, one of Epstein's victims, had said Andrew had sexual relations with her when she was just 17 years old, adding that it was part of Epstein's trafficking scheme.
However, Prince Andrew consistently denied these allegations, saying he did not remember meeting her.
In December 2010, Andrew was photographed walking through Central Park with Epstein after Epstein’s release from prison for pleading guilty to prostituting minors, according to the Guardian.
In July 2019, Epstein was arrested again on federal sex trafficking charges and subsequently died by suicide in jail.
This reignited scrutiny on Andrew’s relationship with Epstein, leading Andrew to quit his role as the UK trade envoy.
Additional revelations emerged over the years, including emails from 2011 suggesting Andrew maintained contact with Epstein after publicly claiming he cut ties.
In November 2020, Buckingham Palace announced that Andrew would suspend all royal duties "for the foreseeable future."
Beyond his Epstein scandal, in 2024, leaked documents reportedly showed that Andrew had been in touch with a suspected Chinese spy named Yang Tengbo, someone who’s banned from the UK over national security concerns.
The documents claim Prince Andrew even gave Yang permission to act on his behalf to help secure investments.
The documents also revealed that Prince Andrew had regularly sent birthday correspondence to Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Now, fast-forward to 2025, on Oct. 12, The Mail on Sunday revealed that Andrew sent a questionable email to Epstein months after claiming he had cut off contact.
He reportedly told Epstein “Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!”
Public outrage was further renewed with Giuffre’s memoir expected to be released in October, following her death in April.
In it, she had written in detail that Andrew raped her on three separate occasions when she was underage and trafficked by Epstein.
On Oct. 17, Andrew officially gave up his royal title after discussions with King Charles III.
The decision that he reportedly made voluntarily means he’ll no longer publicly use titles like Duke of York, Knight of the Garter, Earl of Inverness or Baron Kilkeel.
He will remain Prince and keep his dukedom as this can only be stripped from by order of Parliament.
The move is largely symbolic and meant to create distance between him and the rest of the royals.
Prince Andrew confirmed he’s no longer a working member of the royal family and said the “continued accusations” around him have become a distraction from the royal family’s work.
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