Prince Andrew is “arrogant, boorish and entitled” and had become too much of an “embarrassment” for the Royal Family to ignore, a close friend of King Charles has said.
Jonathan Dimbleby, Charles’s biographer, said the King’s decision to strip his brother of his princely title and force him from his Royal Lodge home was the culmination of a series of problematic revelations in recent weeks.
The Royal Family has been under mounting pressure to act after it was reported earlier this month that Andrew sent a supportive email to Epstein in 2011 saying “we’re in this together”, two months after he had claimed to have ceased contact with the convicted paedophile.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir this month containing more lurid details of allegations against Andrew piled further pressure on the royals.
“The revelations in Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous biography, [and] that he had clearly lied… was the culminating factor,” Dimbleby told the BBC.
Follow all the latest updates from Yahoo News below
Live12 updates
Fri 31 October 2025 at 6:08 am GMT-4
Ellen Manning
Questions may be asked as to why the King hasn’t taken steps to remove Andrew from the line of succession. (PA)
Majesty Magazine’s managing editor Joe Little said questions may be raised over the fact Andrew, who is eighth in line to the throne, retains his place in the line of succession.
He told the PA news agency: “I’m sure at some point quite soon, somebody will ask, if they’ve not already done so, why he hasn’t been moved from the line of succession.
“Clearly it would take quite a catastrophe for him to become king given all those that are ahead of him. So might it not have been tidier to withdraw him from the line of succession?”
- Fri 31 October 2025 at 5:53 am GMT-4
Ellen Manning
The royals are still ‘vulnerable’ to questions about how much they knew about Andrew, it has been suggested. (Getty)
Despite the King’s decisive act, the royal family remains ‘vulnerable” to further questions about what they knew and when, a former BBC royal correspondent has said.
Peter Hunt told the PA news agency that senior royals had “acted from a position of fear, not strength”, adding: “They fear further revelations about Epstein’s relationship with Andrew and they are fearful of remaining out of step with public opinion.
“They remain vulnerable to MPs and journalists continuing to ask questions about what they knew when; why didn’t they act sooner; and how did Andrew fund his settlement with Virginia Giuffre?”
- Fri 31 October 2025 at 5:45 am GMT-4
Ellen Manning
A former royal communications secretary said the emergence of new information had prompted the decision to strip Andrew of his titles. (Getty)
Julian Payne, former communications secretary to the King and Queen, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “a tipping point had been reached” in recent weeks after new information emerged.
That information included the email that contradicted Andrew’s claims around the timeline of events, as well as details in Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, and photographs of Epstein attending events such as Andrew’s daughter Beatrice’s 18th birthday celebrations in 2006.
The fact Andrew had become such a “huge distraction” meant it was time for “decisive action”, said Payne.
- Fri 31 October 2025 at 5:36 am GMT-4
Ellen Manning
Jonathan Dimbleby said information in Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir contributed to the King’s decision. (Alamy)
Dimbleby told the BBC that the fact Andrew had ‘clearly lied’ was the culminating factor in the King’s decision.
Earlier in October an email sent by Andrew to Epstein emerged, in which the royal said: “We’re in this together”, despite having previously claimed he had severed contact with the financier.
Dimbleby told Today: “I think the culmination of a whole series of things and particularly towards the end the revelations in Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous biography that he had clearly lied.”
He referred to images captured of Andrew walking with Epstein in New York, saying: “He said that he’d gone there to break with him. He was lying, he did not break with him, he continued the relationship, and I think that was the culminating factor.”
Advertisement
Advertisement
- Fri 31 October 2025 at 5:23 am GMT-4
Ellen Manning
The process of formally removing Andrew’s titles and honours is underway. (Getty)
Andrew’s name no longer appears on the official roll of the peerage, which is part of the formal process of removing his titles.
Dukes, including the Duke of York, are listed on the roll of the peerage which is maintained at the Crown Office.
As Lord Chancellor, David Lammy is responsible for maintaining the peerage roll.
- Fri 31 October 2025 at 5:12 am GMT-4
Ellen Manning
The King’s decision to strip his brother of his titles caused shock around the world. (Getty)
The King’s unprecedented move to strip Prince Andrew of his titles and evict him from Royal Lodge has caused shock around the world.
Andrew, who will now be known merely as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, is widely seen as having tarnished the Royal family’s global reputation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
The news promoted headlines across the globe, from Europe to Australia and the US.
Read more on how the world’s newspapers reacted from the Telegraph.
- Fri 31 October 2025 at 5:04 am GMT-4
Ellen Manning
Jonathan Dimbleby with King Charles at Highgrove. (Alamy)
Former BBC presenter Jonathan Dimbleby, a close friend and biographer of the King, said he would be feeling “a measure of relief” following his decision.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he described Andrew as: “arrogant, boorish, entitled, an embarrassment for a long time to the institution of the monarchy and to the King.”
He said: “I think that today he [the King] will be feeling a measure of relief that after going through due process constitutionally, legally, being in touch with his family, making sure to keep in touch with No 10, that he has made this decision, his own personal decision, a very big decision… and hope that for him and for the monarchy it will now go away, although it won’t of course for Andrew.”
- Fri 31 October 2025 at 4:46 am GMT-4
Ellen Manning
A BBC Question Time audience burst into spontaneous applause when they were told that Andrew was to be stripped of his titles.
As presenter Fiona Bruce informed them of the breaking news, exclamations of surprise could be heard from the audience followed by clapping.
Labour’s Lisa Nandy, who was appearing on the programme, said: “I think this is a really brave, important, and right step by the King, and I fully support it”.
Advertisement
Advertisement
- Fri 31 October 2025 at 4:38 am GMT-4
Ellen Manning
Prince Andrew pictured earlier this month. (PA)
Asked if Andrew should go to the US to answer questions about late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, Bryant said he should.
He told the BBC: “I think that just as with any ordinary member of the public, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any decently-minded person to comply with that request.
“So I feel exactly there same in this situation.”
He added: “What I’m basically saying is that I think that if Andrew is asked to do something by a Senate committee, then I would have thought that he would want to comply.”
- Fri 31 October 2025 at 4:28 am GMT-4
Ellen Manning
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will retain their titles. (Getty)
While their father has been stripped of his titles and honours, it is believed that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will retain theirs.
The sisters will be welcome to join the gathering at Sandringham for Christmas and other royal family events, it is understood.
The pair are also thought to have the continued support of Prince William.
- Fri 31 October 2025 at 4:13 am GMT-4
Ellen Manning
The move comes after the publication of Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir ‘Nobody’s Girl’. (Getty)
The move was welcomed across the board, including by the family of the late Virginia Giuffre, who accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.
They said in a statement that she “brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage”.
Minister of Trade Policy Chris Bryant told BBC Breakfast that “the vast majority of people in this country will think that it’s the right thing to do”, saying: “My constituents…. and your viewers will think ‘hurrah, well done to the King’”.
- Fri 31 October 2025 at 4:10 am GMT-4
Ellen Manning
Prince Andrew is being formally stripped of his title in the latest chapter in the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles is initiating a formal process to remove his brother’s titles and honours. He will also have to move out of his Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor.
Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and will move to a property on the Sandringham Estate.
He has consistently and vehemently denied any allegations.
Prince Andrew is to be stripped of all of his titles and honours. (PA)