It was expected that following Prince Andrew’s out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, following her accusations of sexual assault, there would be repercussions in the U.K. A motion to remove his Freedom of the City of York honor that he was given in 1987 was approved unanimously at a full council meeting, according to the BBC. The councillors also called for his Duke of York title to be removed.
Both Buckingham Palace and a spokesperson for the Duke of York declined to comment. The Liberal Democrat Darryl Smalley said the government and the Royal Family must “step in to remove his title to finally end Prince Andrew’s connection to York” if the prince “fails to do so.” It seems really unlikely that the Queen might do that—especially so late in her life, to isolate her favorite is just not something she will do.
With how divided politics is, it says a lot that every party is willing to remove Andrew, and recognizes that his actions do a disservice to their country and they do not want to see him connected to their city.
Smalley also said: “Having been stripped of his military roles and royal patronages by the Queen, we believe that it is right to remove all links that Prince Andrew still has with our great city […] I was pleased to see councillors of all parties support this motion and make it clear that it is no longer appropriate for Prince Andrew to represent York and its residents.”
Some suggestions have been to make Andrew’s daughter, Beatrice, the Duchess of York, but the important thing everyone agrees with is, symbolic or not, he is not someone deserving of honor. As a reminder, Prince Andrew was accused of sexually assaulting Giuffre on three occasions when she was 17, during his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein. Andrew denied any wrongdoing, even at one point dismissing a claim by saying he’s medically unable to sweat in an effort to debunk a detail of the accusation, but settled for an undisclosed amount.
(via BBC, image: Steve Parsons – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
