Buckingham Palace has made a major change to their website today after Prince Andrew let go of his duke title on Friday. The prince, 65, will no longer use his Duke of York title as a result of continued accusations made against him following his association with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – accusations he continues to deny.

Prince Andrew

 

In a statement on Friday, Andrew said: “In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family. I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first.

“I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life. With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”

Andrew and Sarah

Following Friday’s announcement, Buckingham Palace has now made a major change on their website regarding Prince Andrew.

While he was previously named Duke of York on the website, he is now simply referred to as Prince Andrew.

This change was made on Monday.

The prince was originally given the Duke of York title by his mother Queen Elizabeth II on his wedding day to Sarah Ferguson, who became Duchess of York, in 1986.

Despite being divorced, Sarah kept this title, but will also no longer be using it since Friday’s announcement.

The decision regarding Andrew’s royal titles being removed has not impacted his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

It is believed Andrew decided to drop his dukedom title on Friday after conversations with his brother King Charles, who reportedly warned that action would be taken if he did not give up the title.

The decision to drop his dukedom also comes years after Andrew stopped being a working royal, which was also a result of his previous association with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, as well as claims he had sexually abused Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre when she was 17. Andrew has always denied such claims.