After a stretch of years marred by internal family drama, damaging allegations, health troubles and the death of its most senior member, 2025 started as a relatively headline-free year for the Royal family.
King Charles and Princess Kate were slowly returning to the public eye as they started to gain the upper hand in their cancer battles. Princess Anne was recovering from a horse accident.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, continued their quasi-exile in the United States. Meghan returned to social media and starred in her own Netflix series.
It was a marked difference from previous years, which had been dominated by Harry and Meghan’s departure from royal duties, Queen Elizabeth’s death, and the ongoing scandal involving a particular member of the family.
Things remained quiet for most of the year.
But just after the King hosted US President Donald Trump for an unprecedented second visit, a not-so-hidden skeleton the royals had been dealing with for years once again reared its ugly head.
Those were, of course, the ongoing allegations against and scandal surrounding the then-Prince Andrew.
In 2022, Andrew had settled a lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of having sex with her after being trafficked by paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein as a 17-year-old in the early 2000s. Andrew also maintained a relationship with Epstein, even after the American was convicted of underage sex crimes.
Giuffre committed suicide in April of this year, and Andrew has continuously denied all allegations against him.
Andrew stayed under the radar after her death, infrequently appearing in public. But he still had some last vestiges of his former royal life at that point, including the lease to the 30-room Royal Lodge and his titles. It’s understood that Andrew had hoped to return to royal and public life.
But the man who entered 2025 as His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, and Baron Killyleagh, now leaves the year as an evicted tenant named Andrew.
In October, the allegations against Andrew were thrust back into the public spotlight when UK media reported that he and Epstein had continued to communicate longer than the prince had previously said in a BBC interview.
Andrew reportedly emailed Epstein on February 28, 2011, the day after a photograph of Andrew, Giuffre and Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was made public.
“I’m just as concerned for you! Don’t worry about me! It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it. Otherwise, keep in close touch, and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”
That, combined with more detailed allegations made by Giuffre in her posthumous memoir, refocused criticism of Andrew, thrusting the scandal back into the public’s mind.
Pressure from an angry public was mounting him, and MPs in the UK were calling for him to be stripped of his Dukedom.
In mid-October, Andrew agreed to cease using his peerages and honours, including his title of Duke – but that didn’t seem to be enough.
Two weeks later, King Charles announced he had begun the process to formally strip Andrew of all his titles, including the title of Prince. The King would also evict him from the Royal Lodge, essentially exiling him to the family’s private Sandringham estate, away from the public eye.
He is now known simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
There were more blows to follow for Andrew. He was stripped of his honorary military titles, and plaques bearing his name were taken down.
Lawmakers in the US were calling for him to testify in an Epstein investigation, and he was probed by UK police over an allegation he had asked a bodyguard to dig up dirt on Giuffre. No evidence was found to support this allegation.
It’s unlikely we’ll ever hear much from Andrew again.
Prince William, the next in line to be King, has said “change is on the agenda” when he takes the throne.
Royal commentator Ian Lloyd wrote in the Sunday Post he had “never been as concerned about the future of the monarchy as I am now”, in relation to the near constant Andrew stories and changing image of the royals.
On the other hand, royal commentator Jennie Bond told the BBC the stripping of Andrew’s titles would come as “great relief” to Buckingham Palace.
King Charles will be hoping 2026 is a quieter year.