Prince Andrew Way in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland – which was named after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s marriage to Sarah Ferguson – is set to change after nearly 40 years
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been dealt yet another blow(Image: Max Mumby/Indigo, Getty Images)
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been dealt a fresh blow after a UK council voted to strip a street name honour awarded following his marriage to Sarah Ferguson.
As well as becoming the Duke of York following the 1986 union, Andrew’s name was given to a street in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Prince Andrew Way has existed ever since, but the disgraced royal’s association with the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and the King’s move to strip him of all his honours have seen a major shift in attitudes towards the street’s name.
Local councillors have now initiated the process to change Prince Andrew Way’s name as requests piled up following King Charles III’s decision to strip him of title as Prince. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
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Prince Andrew Way is set to be renamed by a local council(Image: PA)
This week, Belfast Live reports, Lauren Gray, an Alliance Party Councillor on the local Mid and East Antrim Council, proposed Prince Andrew Way should be renamed. She said she has received suggestions for the change ever since she was first elected in 2019, but that requests have reached a fever pitch over the last year.
With the council “now in a place to have this conversation”, the councillor has suggested, and a motion to change the name to honour another royal has now been seconded.
Ms Gray has suggested the street retain its royal links, but through Queen Elizabeth II in a “fitting tribute” to a “strong female leader in a male-dominated world “.
She said: “In recent weeks as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor stepped away from some of the titles conferred on him, and now with the royal family removing his style, title and honours, we’re now in the space to have this conversation.
The street was named following Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s 1986 wedding(Image: PA)
“Certainly with the level of public comment locally, it would seem we are long overdue in looking at what it would take to make this change.
“Carrickfergus has a long connection with the royal family, and when I tabled this motion, it was with the idea of honouring a long-serving monarch, a strong female leader in a male-dominated world.
“Since then many conversations have taken place, online and across different community settings, and what is absolutely clear is that the people of Carrickfergus deserve to have a say in how we progress this going forward.” Ms Gray’s seconded motion has been backed by all the parties represented on the council, including the DUP, UUP, TUV and Sinn Fein.
Now it has been accepted, council officers will bring back a report to councillors on the renaming process, which is set to include a mechanism allowing public consultation – with 10 addresses represented on the street.