Prince Andrew is “set to give up” his royal titles, including Duke of York, according to a bombshell report by The Telegraph.
The embattled royal, facing increased pressure over his ties to the alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and a Chinese spy, “will also give up his membership of the Order of the Garter.”
King Charles had already considered having Andrew’s titles stripped due to recent backlash, with The Telegraph reporting that he placed his brother under “great pressure.” It appears the royal has decided to relinquish them on his own terms instead.
The Telegraph reports Andrew will remain a “prince” because he is the son of Elizabeth II. However, his wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, “will also relinquish her title and will be known simply as Sarah Ferguson.”
Andrew has battled controversy tied to his relationship with Epstein for years, but the latest volley proved to be too much. He was famously photographed walking with Epstein in New York City in 2011—after Epstein was already a convicted sex offender.
More recent pressure stemmed from leaked emails, which showed that Andrew had stayed in touch with Epstein longer than he had previously claimed, calling into question what other things he may have lied about.
In the leaked email, Andrew told Epstein, “We are in this together.” That message was reportedly sent a day after a photo of Andrew with his arm around a teenage Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein victim who took her own life in April, was first published in 2011.
Andrew also reportedly wrote to Epstein that they should “keep in close touch” and expressed a wish to “play some more soon.”
Ferguson was also allegedly implicated in the latest leak. She emailed Epstein in September 2011 after publicly denouncing him. “I know you feel hellaciously let down by me from what you were either told or read, and I must humbly apologize to you and your heart for that.”
Ferguson reportedly went on to call Epstein a “supreme friend” in the correspondence and suggested that she had to publicly condemn him to save her career.
“I was instructed to act with the utmost speed if I would have any chance of holding on to my career as a children’s book author and a children’s philanthropist,” she allegedly wrote.
James Henderson, a former spokesperson for Ferguson, defended her to the Daily Telegraph, saying she was concerned that he would destroy her family.
“I can remember everything about that call. He said he would destroy the York family, and he was quite clear on that. He said he would destroy me. He wasn’t shouting. He had a Hannibal Lecter-type voice. It was very cold and calm and really menacing and nasty,” he said.
A number of charities dropped Ferguson as a patron or ambassador following the revelations including Julia’s House, Teenage Cancer Trust, Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, Children’s Literacy Charity, National Foundation for Retired Service Animals, Prevent Breast Cancer and the British Heart Foundation,
The Daily Beast first revealed last month that Andrew and Epstein’s friendship included the late financier paying for Andrew to have a $200 massage a day before they both partied with President Donald Trump.
Andrew’s relinquishing of his titles is the latest instance of the ghost of Epstein haunting powerful men associated with him. Trump, 79, has faced headache after headache due to his ties to Epstein this year, which include a cache of pictures together and a signed birthday card from the president.
Trump and Epstein’s relationship, paired with the president’s reluctance to declassify the so-called “Epstein files,” has split a faction of his base.
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