In a historic move, King Charles announced he is to strip all remaining titles from Prince Andrew and will evict him from the Royal Lodge.
Buckingham Palace said Andrew was given notice on Thursday to leave the 30-room mansion and he will in future be known simply as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, effectively living as a commoner.
It comes after weeks of intense pressure as the King’s brother’s links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein continue to embarrass the monarchy.
It is understood that although Andrew denies all Epstein accusations, Buckingham Palace considers that there have been “serious lapses of judgement”.
A live audience on BBC’s Question Time burst into applause as they were told the news on Thursday evening, with many around the world expressing similar strong reactions.
Here is how the world’s media reacted to the news:
Andrew believed the worst was over... the King had other ideas
Newspapers in Australia have been following the Andrew-Epstein story closely. The King is still the head of state of Australia, and Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Giuffre, lived in the country for much of her life.
The King’s announcement on Thursday became the lead story on several news sites, including The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Analysis in The Sydney Morning Herald highlights that Andrew’s attempt to draw a line under the accusations by relinquishing Duke of York titles was not enough. It says Charles “never had any doubt” that “more had to be done” to protect the royal family.
The Australian said the royals had “taken the nuclear option”, but criticised the palace, saying in its analysis: “Until now, Buckingham Palace had dished out mostly symbolic punishments against Andrew. This demotion is unprecedented in scale for the House of Windsor.”
In the US, multiple papers and broadcasters covered the story.
CNN called the move “extraordinary” but asked whether the King’s decision was “too little too late”.
Calling it the “ultimate humiliation” for Andrew, the broadcaster described how he will now be “exiled to the countryside to live in obscurity”.
It said the news “cements the deepest split in the British royal family in decades”.
“The question now: whether King Charles and the British establishment have done enough to prevent Andrew’s association with Epstein from engulfing the monarchy.”
The Royal formerly known as prince
The New York Post dubbed Andrew as “disgraced” and highlighted the palace’s reference to the victims and survivors of abuse in their statement.
The statement says the King and Queen’s sympathies “have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse”.
The Washington Post said the King had taken “decisive action against his brother” in what the palace said was “deemed necessary”.
It said the move “underscores the king’s determination to protect the monarchy’s reputation, even at the cost of permanently stripping his younger brother of the titles and privileges he has held since birth”.
It said the removal process represents “the most vigorous royal intervention in a scandal that has plagued the family for years.”
The Prince is no longer
German paper Der Spiegel also led with the story, saying “King Charles has had enough” and is “officially holding his brother accountable”.
The paper said “this is primarily thanks to a courageous woman”, Virginia Giuffre, whose posthumous memoir “achieved what would otherwise likely have been swept under the rug time and time again”.
The paper wrote: “Giuffre fought bravely and persistently to transform the very dark chapters of her young life into brighter ones.”
Elsewhere in Europe, French newspaper Le Monde said it is “almost unprecedented for a British prince or princess to be stripped of that title”.
“It last happened in 1919, when Prince Ernest Augustus, who was a UK royal and also a prince of Hanover, had his British title removed for siding with Germany during World War I.”
How The Independent covered the news
The Independent presented the story on the front cover of Friday’s edition, referencing the King’s “bombshell decree” and writing that Andrew had “paid the price” for his contact with Epstein.
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