Buckingham Palace confirms Andrew struck off peerage roll

Buckingham Palace has confirmed Andrew has been removed.

Buckingham Palace has confirmed Andrew has been removed from the official roll of the peerage, effectively meaning he has lost his Duke of York title.

Andrew Mountbatten’s name will no longer appear on the official roll.

Dukes are listed on the roll of the peerage maintained at the Crown Office, and, as Lord Chancellor, David Lammy is responsible for maintaining the peerage roll.

According to SkyNews, the King issued royal warrants for the dukedom of York to no longer be recognised in the list of peerages, which has the effect of removing Andrew’s title.

The monarchy was coming under increasing pressure to resolve the issues around Andrew, foremost his property arrangements, amid growing calls for him to give up Royal Lodge after it emerged he was paying a “peppercorn” rent.

What is the peerage roll?
The Peerage is the collective term for peers of the realm. A peer is someone who holds one (or more) of five possible titles (duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron) inherited from a direct ancestor or bestowed upon him by the monarch.

As the eyes of the world remain fixed on the 30-bedroom mansion, it is unclear when Andrew will leave.

He is to move into an undisclosed private residence on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk as soon as practicable, it is understood.

Andrew had tainted the reputation of the royal family with his association with Epstein and, for many years, was dogged by allegations he sexually abused Ms Giuffre, who took her own life in April, after the financier trafficked her.

He has strenuously denied the allegations.

In a statement given to the BBC, Ms Giuffre’s family said she had “never stopped fighting for accountability”.

It said: “Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.”

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Ms Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, thanked the King for the Buckingham Palace statement that mentioned “thoughts and utmost sympathies” with “victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse”.

He added: “But it’s not enough, it’s not enough, we have to have some sort of investigation that goes further into this.

“I mean, he’s (Andrew) still walking around a free man. I commend the King, I think he’s doing an amazing job as a world leader, setting a precedent, but we need to take it one more step further: he (Andrew) needs to be behind bars, period.”