The Duke of York should lose the title linking him to the Yorkshire city, it was claimed today after the Queen stripped him of his honorary military roles and he gave up his HRH style in a huge fallout from his civil sex case.
Darryl Smalley, a senior member of City of York Council, has begun a campaign to strip Prince Andrew of his title after a judge in New York threw out the Duke’s motion to dismiss the case two days and ruled it can go to trial.
Labour MP for York Central Rachael Maskell agreed with Mr Smalley’s idea and said it was ‘untenable for the Duke of York to cling onto his title another day longer’ as she started a Twitter hashtag saying #NotInYorksName.
Meanwhile Security Minister Damian Hinds refused to confirm whether taxpayers would still fund Andrew’s security, saying that police would ‘do what they judge is necessary to protect our country, to protect people in it’.
Andrew, who was born an HRH, will not use it any official capacity, and has also been stripped of his remaining royal patronages in a decision which represents the 61-year-old’s complete removal from official royal life.
The dramatic move is also being seen as an attempt to distance the monarchy from Andrew, who was once second in line to the throne as the spare to the heir, in the year of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Andrew was made Duke of York on the day of his wedding to Sarah, Duchess of York – July 23, 1986.
Darryl Smalley (left), a senior member of City of York Council, has begun a campaign to strip Prince Andrew of his title (right)
The Queen stripped Prince Andrew (pictured in September 2019) of his honorary military roles and he gave up his HRH style
Calls have been made for the Duke of York to lose the title linking him to the Yorkshire city (York Minster is pictured)
The Queen marked the royal nuptials by giving her second son the dukedom – the highest rank in the British peerage – and he also became became Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh.
The monarch traditionally gives members of the royal family a new title when they get married, with Prince William becoming the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry given the title the Duke of Sussex.
Former holders of the title Duke of York include Andrew’s grandfather King George VI and his great-grandfather King George V.
Andrew’s dukedom will not be inherited by his daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice when he dies, but revert back to the sovereign.
The title was created in the 14th century and the following century became a possession of the Crown when it was inherited by a future monarch.
Mr Smalley, Liberal Democrat executive member for culture, leisure and communities at City of York Council, said: ‘York’s unique connection to the crown and the monarch is an important part of our city’s legacy, history and a great source of pride.
‘No-one is above the law and all allegations should rightly be fully investigated, particularly following the recent distressing court cases. We stand with all victims, whose harrowing stories have shocked us all in recent months.
‘Whilst Prince Andrew remains innocent until proven guilty, Buckingham Palace and the Government must consider the implications of these troubling allegations moving forward.
‘Having been stripped of his military roles and royal patronages by the Queen, he should also now relinquish his title as Duke of York.’
Ms Maskell agreed, tweeting: “It’s untenable for the Duke of York to cling onto his title another day longer; this association with York must end. There’s a very serious allegation made against this man of privilege & entitlement. I’m working with agencies to tackle sexual violence & misogyny. #NotinYorksName.’
Several other social media users also then backed this hashtag by including it in their own tweets on the matter.
As for the question of security, even after being restricted from his duties, Andrew as a senior royal had been given round-the-clock Scotland Yard protection at an annual cost of £2million to the taxpayer.
And Mr Hinds told LBC this morning: ‘Our security forces, the police and others, do what they judge is necessary to protect our country, to protect people in it.’
He said it was a ‘long-standing – and I think correct – principle that we don’t talk about who and how in particular’.
When pushed, Mr Hinds said: ‘I know this is going to come across to you possibly, and possibly to some listeners, like me obfuscating and avoiding the question, and I suppose maybe even in some ways it is avoiding the question, but only because it is right to say that the police and our wider security forces do what is right and proportionate to protect the people of this country.’
Retired chief superintendent Dai Davies said last night that a decision on whether to continue providing protection for Andrew will be based on the threat level he faces.
‘Whether [or not] he continues to use his titles, he remains the Queen’s son,’ Mr Davies added. ‘Whether or not he is still afforded specialist protection will be based entirely around how serious intelligence suggests the threat level will be.’
Mr Davies, who led the Metropolitan Police’s royalty protection unit, explained: ‘If the threat level is low, then like junior royals and his own daughters he will have to fund protection himself.’
Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice received official protection until 2011 but now foot the bill themselves, probably with some help from their father.
The threat level is determined by Home Office advisers, the Queen’s private security and a specialist committee, Mr Davies said.
It is likely that, in the short term, Prince Andrew’s protection will continue, he added. ‘Clearly now he is open to all kinds of vilification given he is very much in the limelight and has been accused of some serious things, so they will have to be careful,’ Mr Davies said.
‘I think they will be very cautious until there has been a very thorough assessment and he will remain protected at least in the short term. There are very strong feelings about him at the moment and suggestions he did not tell the truth, so that threat is there.’
A spokesman from Scotland Yard said the force does not discuss matters of protection.
The full cost of royal security is kept from the public as Scotland Yard argues it would compromise safety. But it is believed to cost taxpayers well in excess of £125million a year.
Meanwhile, the decision to strip Andrew of his titles paves the way for him to seek an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre without the fear of his decision – likely to be viewed unfavourably by the public – being associated with the royal family.
The development comes after more than 150 veterans joined forces to express their outrage, writing to the Queen to demand the duke’s removal from the honorary military positions.
Prince Andrew, centre, is driven from Royal Lodge to meet his mother at Windsor Castle yesterday. On the right is lawyer Gary Bloxsome
Buckingham Palace said in yesterday that his ‘military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen’
A royal source said the issue had been widely discussed with the royal family, making it likely that the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge were involved in crisis talks over the matter.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement yesterday: ‘With the Queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen.
‘The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.’
It is understood the decision was taken by mutual agreement between the Queen and her son but the ultimate decision would have fallen to the monarch and been a difficult one.
As a former Royal Navy officer who served in the Falklands War the loss of his association with the military units and regiments, the most prestigious being Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, will be keenly felt by Andrew.
The source said the military posts would be redistributed to other members of the royal family.
But Andrew will keep his rank of Vice Admiral and his role of Counsellor of State, undertaken by the spouse of a monarch and the next four adults in the line of succession.
It is not clear what effect the decision will have on the level of security provided for the duke now his status has been reduced.
The Queen is head of the armed forces and honorary military appointments are in her gift.
The Palace said previously that the duke’s military appointments were in abeyance after he stepped down from public duties in 2019 after his disastrous Newsnight interview.
But until now he still retained the roles, which left the eight British regiments in limbo more than two years on.
Ms Giuffre is suing the duke in the US for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager.
She claims she was trafficked by Andrew’s friend Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with the duke when she was 17 and a minor under US law.
The duke has strenuously denied the allegations.
A source close to the duke said he would ‘continue to defend himself’ against Ms Giuffre’s allegations following the judge’s decision to dismiss his legal team’s attempt to have the case thrown out.
The source said: ‘Given the robustness with which Judge Kaplan greeted our arguments, we are unsurprised by the ruling.
‘However, it was not a judgment on the merits of Ms Giuffre’s allegations.
‘This is a marathon not a sprint and the duke will continue to defend himself against these claims.’
Andrew’s other British honorary military roles were: Honorary air commodore of RAF Lossiemouth; Colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Regiment; Colonel-in-chief of the Small Arms School Corps; Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm; Royal colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland; Deputy colonel-in-chief of The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth’s Own); and Colonel-in-chief of the Yorkshire Regiment.
Royal commentator Peter Hunt, writing in the Spectator, said: ‘This is what a sacking looks like when you’re ninth in line to the British throne. No more appearances on the Buckingham Palace balcony, riding horseback during Trooping the Colour, or laying a wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.
‘Henceforth, he’s Prince Andrew, Duke of York: the non-royal royal. His only sliver of consolation is that he hasn’t been stripped of being a Knight of the Garter. Yet.’
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