Royal family website updates line of succession over Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's title change
The disgraced royal lost his royal titles and honours amid scandal
The royal family’s website has officially updated the line of succession to reflect Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s new status, dropping all royal titles and styling.
It follows King Charles’ decision at the end of October to initiate a formal process to strip his younger brother of all remaining titles, honours, and the right to be styled “His Royal Highness”.
The decision came amid growing scrutiny over Andrew and his links to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Royal family website changes Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s name on line of succession
While Andrew’s biography page on the website disappeared weeks ago, the line of succession section had continued to list him as “The Duke of York”.
That has now changed. Andrew remains in eighth place, but his title now reads “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor”.
At the time of birth, Andrew, 65, was second in line to the throne, behind only his older brother Charles. Over time, as his brother had children and grandchildren, Andrew has gradually moved down.
He now follows Prince Harry’s children, Archie and Lilibet, who are sixth and seventh, respectively.
Despite the public fallout surrounding Andrew, his position in the line of succession remains intact. This status can only be changed by an Act of Parliament, with approval from the Commonwealth countries where King Charles is head of state.
According to the BBC, this legal safeguard means even royals who step down or are stripped of duties still technically retain their place unless formal legislation is passed.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor scandal
The line of succession update is the latest in a series of consequences stemming from Andrew’s association with Epstein.
He stepped back from public duties in 2019 after his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview, where he discussed his ties to the convicted sex offender.
In 2021, Andrew also faced a civil sexual assault lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre in the US. Ms Giuffre alleged that she was made to sleep with Andrew when she was 17 in the early 2000s, after being trafficked by Epstein.
Andrew has vehemently denied all the allegations against him. He and Ms Giuffre reached an out-of-court settlement in February 2022 for an undisclosed sum. The royal repeated that the settlement did not mean any liability or admission of guilt.
Public scrutiny resurfaced in October after Ms Giuffre’s posthumous memoir emerged. It came months after she took her own life in April.
In it, she repeated her allegations in detail against Andrew.
Meanwhile, leaked emails from 2011 showed Andrew remained in contact with Epstein even after publicly saying he had cut ties in late 2010.
Palace announcement about Andrew
On October 17, Andrew announced he would stop using his Duke of York title and other royal honours.
However, by October 30, Buckingham Palace confirmed that King Charles had initiated the formal process of stripping Andrew of all styling. This included Andrew’s title of prince and the “His Royal Highness” styling. It became official in early November, via a Letters Patent authorised by the king.
The palace also confirmed that Andrew would move out of his 30-room Windsor home, Royal Lodge.
It comes amid King Charles’ broader efforts to streamline the monarchy and distance the institution from controversy.
Andrew continues to reside at Royal Lodge, his long-time residence in Windsor Great Park in Berkshire. However, according to reports, he will relocate to Sandringham Estate in the new year.
Read more: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor hailed ‘ignorant’ and ‘stupid’ by Susannah Constantine
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