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Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Andrew will no longer hold the title of prince and is set to vacate Royal Lodge.
In a surprising announcement made on Thursday evening, the King stated that his younger brother will now be referred to as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, effective immediately.
The King explained that these measures are necessary in light of the ongoing fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse scandal, involving the notorious financier with whom the former Duke of York falsely claimed to have severed ties.
The palace stated, “His Majesty has commenced a formal process to strip Prince Andrew of his Style, Titles, and Honours.”
“From now on, Prince Andrew will be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His tenancy at Royal Lodge, until now, has afforded him legal protection to reside there.”
“A formal notice has been issued to relinquish the lease, and he will relocate to alternative private accommodation.”
‘These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.
‘Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.’
In a bombshell statement released on Thursday, the King said his younger brother (pictured at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral last month) will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor – with immediate effect
It is understood Charles is in the process of sending royal warrants to the Lord Chancellor – currently Justice Secretary David Lammy – to secure title removals for the Dukedom of York, Prince and ‘Royal Highness’ from Andrew.
His brother is said to have not objected.
Although Andrew has been stripped of all his remaining titles, those of his daughters, Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35, will remain.
Amid the controversy, the King is said to be very keen to ‘protect’ his nieces.
They remain Her Royal Highnesses as granddaughters of Queen Elizabeth.
‘He wouldn’t have wanted to sign off on anything that would impact them,’ a source told the Daily Mail.
But Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, formerly known as the Duchess of York, lost her right to that address when he agreed to give up all his remaining royal titles last week.
He relinquished his dukedom, his membership of the Order of the Garter and his position as Knight Grand Cross the Royal Victoria Order.
The royal was initially allowed to remain a Prince, as the son of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
But this latest announcement has seen this position revoked too, with the formal process to actually remove his titles also now initiated.
Andrew’s departure from Royal Lodge comes amid an ongoing row over the residence since his titles were stripped earlier this month.
But, as of Thursday, it is understood Andrew has been served to surrender the lease and will move out of the residence as soon as practically possible.
The royal will be moved to a property on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk – more than 100 miles away from his current home with Fergie in Windsor.
The specifics regarding the move are unknown.
His ex-wife, meanwhile, will make her own living arrangements after moving out of the royal grounds of Windsor Castle, it is understood.
The move was entirely down to the King and his advisors, without pressure from the government or other family members, such as Prince William, sources told the Mail.
Although Andrew has been stripped of all his remaining titles, those of his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will remain – unlike his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson’s (pictured, with Beatrice and Eugenie, in April this year)
‘The process has been underway for some while but there was a need to get it right in the face of some very big challenges,’ an insider said.
Notice was not served on Andrew to move. It was his lease so it was up to the former Duke of York to serve notice himself, suggesting he is not fighting the process.
Andrew has lived at the Grade II-listed mansion on the grounds of Windsor Castle for over two decades with Fergie, despite their divorce in 1996.
The departure comes amid the ex-Duke’s ongoing entanglement in the Epstein sex abuse scandal, his involvement in which he continues to vehemently deny.
It is the latest shocking development in what has been a remarkable fall from grace for a formerly prominent member of the Royal Family.
Read below the timeline of Andrew’s extraordinary downfall:
1999: Andrew meets Epstein through Ghislaine Maxwell
Andrew was reportedly introduced to Epstein, an investment banker and hedge fund manager, in 1999.
They were connected by their mutual friend – and Epstein’s ex-girlfriend – Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite daughter of late media tycoon Robert Maxwell.
A photograph that later emerged when Maxwell went on trial for sex trafficking in 2021 shows her with Epstein at Balmoral Castle, the Royal Family’s Scottish residence, that year.
2000: Epstein and Maxwell attend royal parties
Epstein and Maxwell were among the guests at a party at Windsor Castle in June 2000.
The pair were also seen along with Andrew at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Later that year, Andrew held a birthday party for Maxwell at the Royal Family’s Sandringham estate, which Epstein also attended.
March, 2001: Andrew allegedly assaults Virginia Giuffre
The royal’s sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre, then a teenager, has claimed Andrew sexually assaulted her at Maxwell’s home in the Belgravia area of London in March 2001.
She has also said he went on to assault her twice more, at Epstein’s New York home and during an ‘orgy’ on his private island in the Caribbean.
The royal vehemently denies the allegations.
2003: Andrew signs the lease for Royal Lodge
Andrew signed a 75-year lease for Royal Lodge from the Crown Estate in 2003 for a £1million one-off payment.
He spent £7.5million refurbishing the residence, which included adding an indoor swimming pool.
The property includes the 30-room mansion itself, along with a whopping 100 acres of land.
It also comes with a gardener’s cottage, the chapel lodge and six lodge cottages.
As part of the deal, Andrew would only have to pay £250 a week in rent, but he would have to maintain the property – understood to cost around £400,000 a year.
The lease states he has a responsibility to ‘repair, renew, uphold, clean and keep in repair and where necessary rebuild’ the home.
This includes repainting its external walls every five years with ‘two coats of paint’ from 2008 and redecorating inside every seven years from 2010.
It has no provision for any rent review over the life of the 75-year lease agreement.
But it states the royal may not financially benefit from any increase in the value of the property as the freehold belongs to the Crown Estate.
Andrew signed a 75-year lease for Royal Lodge (pictured) from the Crown Estate in 2003 for a £1million one-off payment
2004: Andrew moves in to Royal Lodge
Andrew first moved into the large mansion in 2004, with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson joining him in 2008.
Both their daughters Beatrice and Eugenie held their wedding receptions at the house.
And they went on to keep their own bedrooms at Royal Lodge, often staying at weekends despite both having homes in London.
After the first lockdown, Fergie shared a series of YouTube videos from the house, showing off the drinks cabinet and dressing table with a large vanity mirror.
2006: Epstein attends party at Windsor Castle
Epstein attended another party at Windsor Castle in July 2006.
2008: Epstein convicted in the US for procuring a minor for prostitution
Epstein was convicted in the States in 2008 for procuring a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute, after pleading guilty.
It came after the parents of a 14-year-old girl told police in the state of Florida in 2005 he had sexually abused her.
Federal officials subsequently identified 36 other girls, some just as young, whom Epstein had allegedly sexually abused.
But as part of a controversial plea deal, which saw him convicted of only two crimes, he served just 13 months of an 18-month prison sentence, before he was released on probation.
This itself was a major reduction on the life in prison he could have served had he been convicted of federal charges.
And much of the sentence he did serve was spent on ‘work release’, which saw him able to go to his office for 12 hours a day, six days a week.
Epstein (pictured, his mugshot) was convicted in the States in 2008 for procuring a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute, after pleading guilty
December, 2010: Andrew visits Epstein in New York after he was jailed for sexual offences
After Epstein left prison, Andrew was pictured walking with him in Central Park in New York City in December 2010.
The royal has previously said he did not have any contact with the financier from the party at Windsor in July 2006 until this meeting.
He later claimed the meeting was to end their relationship.
February 27, 2011: Mail on Sunday publishes bombshell photo of Andrew with Virginia Giuffre
The now-infamous photograph of Andrew with his arm around Ms Giuffre was published by The Mail on Sunday on February 27, 2011.
It showed the royal with his arm around the then-17-year-old’s bare midriff, while Maxwell grinned in the background.
The picture was taken, Ms Giuffre said, in March 2001, when Maxwell and Epstein had flown her to Maxwell’s Belgravia townhouse for her first sexual encounter with Andrew.
It marked the escalation of Andrew’s implication in the Epstein sex abuse scandal.
July, 2011: Andrew quits as trade envoy over Epstein controversy – and Fergie confesses to accepting financier’s money
Andrew quit his government-appointed role as the special representative for international trade and investment in July 2011.
The position, which he was awarded in July 2001, saw him represent Britain at trade fairs and conferences worldwide.
He left the post over a controversy surrounding his visit to Epstein after his prison sentence for sexual offences.
Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson also admitted she had accepted money from Epstein to pay off debts.
The now-infamous photograph (pictured) of Andrew with his arm around Ms Giuffre was published by The Mail on Sunday on February 27, 2011
April, 2015: Andrew alleged to have had sex with Ms Giuffre
Court documents in the Epstein case in Florida reveal allegations Ms Giuffre was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17 – under the state’s age of consent.
The Palace denied the allegations.
August 10, 2019: Epstein found dead in prison
Epstein was found dead in prison in New York on August 10, 2019, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
He had been arrested in early July of that year on new charges connected to allegations from the early 2000s.
November 16, 2019: Andrew interviewed on BBC Newsnight
Andrew agreed to be interviewed by BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis on the programme, which went ahead on November 16, 2019.
The now-infamous car-crash interview saw the royal claim he could not have had sex with Ms Giuffre because he was at home that evening having taken his daughter Beatrice to a birthday party at a Pizza Express in Woking.
He also said the account of him dancing with his accuser that evening could not have been correct because he cannot sweat.
The ex-Duke also said he had ‘no recollection of ever meeting this lady’ and ‘categorically I don’t remember meeting her at all’.
Pressed repeatedly whether he was saying ‘categorically’ he could not remember Ms Giuffre, Andrew replied: ‘Yep.’
He also suggested the infamous photograph of him with his arm around Ms Giuffre’s waist could have been a crude forgery.
The royal said: ‘Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored but I don’t recollect that photograph ever being taken.’
Andrew also said he did not regret being friends with Epstein.
The now-infamous car-crash BBC Newsnight interview in 2019 (pictured) saw the royal claim he could not have had sex with Ms Giuffre because he was at home that evening having taken his daughter Beatrice to a birthday party at a Pizza Express in Woking
November 20, 2019: Andrew is sacked from royal duties
Days after the ex-Duke’s disastrous Newsnight interview, the late Queen sacked him from royal duties to contain the fallout.
A statement from the Palace at the time said she had given her son permission to ‘step back from public duties for the foreseeable future’.
Andrew also said he was ‘willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations if required’ over the Epstein probe.
Pressure had been mounting in the day’s prior after the royal’s disastrous Newsnight interview about his years of friendship with Epstein.
Charles, who was then Prince of Wales, is said to have stepped in and made it clear his younger brother should be stripped of all royal duties.
The sacking saw the removal of the flagpole on the roof of Royal Lodge, which used to fly the personal Royal Standard of the Duke of York when he was in residence.
And it also meant he was no longer in receipt of public funds.
Andrew went on to live on handouts from the late Queen, personal investments, bequests from family members and his modest naval pension.
He continued to have a royal allowance of £249,000 a year.
His step back from public duties limited his ability to pay for the maintenance of the palatial Royal Lodge.
January 12, 2022: Andrew’s attempts to throw out Giuffre sexual abuse case unsuccessful
A judge in New York rejected, on January 12, 2022, the ex-prince’s attempts to throw out a sexual abuse civil lawsuit Ms Giuffre had brought against him.
March 2022: Andrew pays £12million to Virginia Giuffre
Andrew paid a reported £12million settlement to his sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre in March 2022, halting the civil trial she had launched in the US.
She said he sexually assaulted her when she was 17. He strongly denies the claims.
A statement from Andrew and Ms Giuffre’s lawyers said the royal would pay the formally undisclosed sum to her.
It also said he would make a ‘substantial donation’ to her charity supporting victims’ rights and that the royal regretted his association with Epstein.
Andrew paid a reported £12million settlement to his sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre (pictured, with a picture of herself as a teen) in March 2022, halting the civil trial she had launched in the US
June, 2022: Maxwell is sentenced to 20 years in prison
Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022 for helping Epstein recruit and groom underage girls for his sex trafficking ring.
October 2023: Andrew granted ‘a stay of execution’
Andrew was granted ‘a stay of execution’ in October 2023, after he did a deal with the King to carry out the repair works on Royal Lodge.
The Mirror reported Andrew was granted it after Charles accepted his brother should be given time to prove he can pay for the mansion’s upkeep.
But a family friend told the Mail at the time: ‘It’s all a bit cloud cuckoo-land, I’m afraid.
‘No one, not least His Majesty, believes there is any realistic, long-term chance of the Duke of York being able to keep the roof at Royal Lodge over his head.
‘It’s a massive property and estate that requires a huge amount of upkeep.’
January, 2024: Financial worries over Royal Lodge mount – and further allegations about Andrew emerge
It was reported that Andrew may have his royal allowance of £249,000 cut, making it even harder for the ex-duke to keep Royal Lodge going.
He reportedly told friends such a drastic change to his finances would mean he would not be able to cover the costs of the mansion.
But despite his money worries, sources close to the ex-duke said at the time: ‘Andrew is going nowhere. He has a cast iron lease.’
Meanwhile, sources close to the King acknowledged his brother has a legally binding lease but said he is determined not to bail him out over the mansion’s upkeep costs.
Court documents were also unsealed by an American judge in January last year, revealing new accusations against Andrew.
These included groping a woman’s breast in an alleged encounter involving a puppet representation of the royal, along with claims he had sex with a teenage Ms Giuffre.
Andrew has always denied all accusations of sexual activity with Epstein’s accusers and denied any wrongdoing.
The 1,200 pages of evidence had been gathered for Ms Giuffre’s 2015 defamation case against Maxwell.
Scotland Yard said at the time the documents did not contain new information and it would not investigate them.
In December last year, it was announced Andrew (pictured) would not be present at the Royal Family’s Christmas celebrations at the Sandringham estate
May 5, 2024: Pictures show the dilapidated state of Royal Lodge
In early May of last year, pictures showing the dilapidated state of Royal Lodge were published.
The photos showed the mansion’s exterior had fallen into disrepair due to the duke’s apparent lack of funds to maintain it.
Part of the terms of the lease was that Andrew would carry out repair works, but these did not appear to be happening.
May 30, 2024: Charles ‘threatens to sever all ties with Andrew’ over Royal Lodge
In late May, the row escalated when a friend of the King said he may be forced to ‘reassess the whole package of support’ he provides his brother with if Andrew refuses to leave in a reasonable timeframe.
This would mean the ex-duke would have to pay for his own private security, accommodation and lifestyle costs.
Due to the expenses involved, Andrew’s ability to afford life on his own two feet was seen as highly unlikely to be possible in the long term.
A friend of the King told The Times: ‘Everyone is mindful of his wellbeing, and has his best interests at heart, but there are limits of patience and tolerance.
‘As things stand, life at Royal Lodge is set to become increasingly cold and uncomfortable for the duke.’
It had been hoped Andrew would downsize to live at Frogmore Cottage, which would make him a significant saving.
The alternative had been raised in the past but the ex-Duke reportedly saw it as a ‘demotion’ too far.
Maxwell (pictured with Epstein in 2005) was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022 for helping Epstein recruit and groom underage girls for his sex trafficking ring
December 16, 2024: Andrew to stay away from Royal Family’s Christmas celebrations
In December last year, it was announced Andrew would not be present at the Royal Family’s Christmas celebrations at the Sandringham estate.
It came amid revelations an alleged Chinese spy, businessman Yang Tengbo, was said to have been a ‘close’ confidant of Andrew in a high court hearing.
A statement from Andrew’s office said he stopped all contact with the alleged spy, who was banned from the UK.
He said they had met through ‘official channels’ and ‘nothing of a sensitive nature’ was ‘ever discussed’.
April 26, 2025: Ms Giuffre takes her own life
Ms Giuffre took her own life at her $1.3million farmhouse in the Neergabby area near Perth, Australia, in April this year.
She lived there alone, after separating from her Australian husband Robert Giuffre earlier this year, who she alleged subjected her to domestic abuse. He has not responded to the allegations.
He lived in the family home in Perth with their three children at the time of her death.
Her family said at the time: ‘Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
‘She was the light that lifted so many survivors. In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.’
Ms Giuffre (pictured in August 2019) took her own life at her $1.3million farmhouse in the Neergabby area near Perth, Australia, in April this year
August 31, 2025: Andrew stayed in contact with Epstein five years longer than he claimed
Andrew remained in contact with Epstein five years longer than he claimed, according to emails unearthed in August.
Correspondence in late 2015 between the American financier and former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, in which the ex-Duke is namechecked, was published by The Sunday Times earlier this year.
In the exchange, Epstein suggests there is a potential business opportunity in China for a personal protection company.
When asked by Barak where the information had come from, Epstein responded ‘andrew’. Barak then says if that was ‘The Prince’, to which the convicted paedophile said: ‘yes.’
It throws into doubt Andrew’s claim to Emily Maitlis in the disastrous 2019 Newsnight grilling that he had stopped seeing Epstein in early December 2010, when they were photographed walking through New York’s Central Park.
Andrew did not respond to requests for comment at the time but has previously strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
September 20, 2025: Fergie lied about cutting ties with Epstein
A bombshell email obtained by The Mail on Sunday revealed last month how the ex-Duchess of York cynically lied when she pledged to cut ties with Epstein.
Just weeks after publicly disowning the vile billionaire, Sarah Ferguson wrote him a gushing private message calling him a ‘steadfast, generous and supreme friend’ – and admitting she only distanced herself from him to save her own reputation.
The royal ‘humbly apologised’ to the convicted sex offender for letting him down, and said she had been told to speak out if she wanted to save her career as a children’s author.
She sent the grovelling message ‘from the truth of my heart’, less than two months after telling journalists: ‘I will never have anything to do with [Epstein] again.’
Those comments came on March 7, 2011, amid mounting pressure over the links she and ex-husband Andrew had to the paedophile – and the £15,000 bailout he gave her.
In an interview in the London Evening Standard with its then Editor, Geordie Greig, she said that accepting Epstein’s money was ‘a gigantic error of judgment… I am just so contrite I cannot say’.
Another email obtained by this newspaper, which Fergie sent on January 22, 2011 – is addressed to ‘my dear, dear friend Jeffrey’ and appears to thank him for his recent help with the huge debts she had racked up after years of lavish spending.
She wrote: ‘How can I thank you enough? You are a friend indeed and I will one day give it to you back. But I can not have the words to thank you now.
‘Sometimes the heart speaks better than the words. You have my heart. With lots of love, dear Jeffrey.’
The royal adopted a similarly appreciative tone in her email of April 26, 2011, apologising for disowning him – while also trying to reassure him that she had never described him as a paedophile.
She told him she had been instructed to give the interview to protect ‘my career as a children’s book author and children’s philanthropist’ adding that she was ‘broken’ because ‘I saw all my children’s work disappearing’.
Pleading with the child abuser, she added: ‘I know you feel hellaciously let down by me from what you were either told or read and I must humbly apologise to you and your heart for that.’
A bombshell email obtained by The Mail on Sunday has revealed how the Duchess of York (pictured with Andrew at Ascot in 2019) cynically lied when she pledged to cut ties with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein
October 11, 2025: Andrew lied about cutting ties with Epstein
It emerged earlier this month Andrew secretly told Epstein ‘we are in this together’ a day after The Mail on Sunday first published the infamous picture of the ex-Duke with his alleged teenage sex victim.
In the astonishing message, Andrew said he was ‘concerned’ about the impact this newspaper’s revelations would have on his friend, but reassured the vile billionaire the pair would ‘rise above’ press scrutiny.
It was sent to Epstein 12 weeks after Andrew had supposedly ceased all contact with the convicted sex offender.
The leaked email provides definitive proof he lied in his interview with BBC’s Newsnight when he claimed he ‘never had any contact’ with Epstein after the pair were famously pictured walking together in New York’s Central Park in December 2010.
Writing to Epstein on February 28, 2011 – the day after the MoS published the now infamous picture of him with a teenage Virginia Giuffre that led to his downfall – Andrew said: ‘I’m just as concerned for you! Don’t worry about me!
‘It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it.
‘Otherwise keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!’
Andrew signed off with: ‘A, HRH The Duke of York, KG’.
KG refers to Duke’s ‘Knight of the Garter’ – a prestigious position he has held since 2006 and which he still retains.
The Duke sent Epstein the supportive message as the pair were reeling from the MoS publishing its world exclusive picture of Andrew with his arm around the naked waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre at the London home of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.
October 15, 2025: Explosive extracts from Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir
Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice was released earlier this month, with the manuscript finished before she died.
The explosive book revolves around her years spent as a sex slave to Epstein and his British madam Maxwell.
Extracts show Ms Giuffre calls the ex-Duke ‘entitled’ and viewing sex as his ‘birthright’.
Within the 400-page autobiography, she also claims Andrew said ‘thank you’ in a ‘clipped British accent’ after their alleged first encounter when she was 17.
She also recalls how Maxwell heaped praise on her after the encounter, saying, ‘You did well, the Prince had fun’.
It was also alleged Andrew told Ms Giuffre his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie were ‘just a little younger than you’ on the night they reportedly had sex.
Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice (pictured) was released earlier this month, with the manuscript finished before she died
October 16, 2025: Reports Andrew allegedly met China scandal spy chief at least three times
Andrew met the alleged ‘spymaster’ at the heart of the collapsed China spy case at least three times, it emerged earlier this month.
The ex-Duke became embroiled in the scandal engulfing the Government as pictures showed him shaking hands with the Beijing official said to have helped mastermind the Westminster espionage plot.
Andrew, already mired in controversy over his friendship with another alleged Beijing spy, forged links with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mandarin Cai Qi, with the pair posing as they celebrated ‘jointly building a golden era in China-UK relations’.
Prosecutors now believe Cai was presiding over a massive intelligence-gathering operation to steal British secrets, overseeing the alleged activities of parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash and China-based English teacher Christopher Berry.
Both men have denied any wrongdoing and the case against them collapsed on the eve of trial last month after the Government refused to label China an ‘enemy’.
But Andrew was then suspected of receiving sensitive information after meeting senior Beijing official Cai Qi at least three times in 2018 and 2019.
October 17, 2025: Andrew forced to relinquish all titles
Andrew was finally forced earlier this month to relinquish all of his remaining royal titles.
After another week of scandal, he announced he would no longer be known as the Duke of York and was stepping down from membership of the Order of the Garter – the country’s most ancient order of chivalry.
Andrew will also relinquish his position as Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victoria Order.
At this stage, he was set to remain a prince, having been born the son of Queen Elizabeth.
His ex-wife, with whom he was initially to continue to live at Royal Lodge, will now be known as plain Sarah Ferguson.
The royal’s decision was made after strong pressure from King Charles and in discussion with other family members, including Prince William, as heir to the throne, as well as Andrew’s other siblings, Princess Anne and Prince Edward.
In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace on his behalf, Andrew made clear he continued to deny allegations of sexual assault made against him by the late Ms Giuffre.
But he conceded continued revelations about his dealings with Epstein, as reported by The Mail on Sunday, were a ‘distraction’ from the good work of the Royal Family.
He said his decision was prompted by his desire to ‘always… put my duty to my family and country first’ – echoing his infamous comment that he chose to break off relations with Epstein by flying to New York to tell him the news personally, because he was an ‘honourable’ man.
Andrew (pictured at the King’s coronation in May 2023) was finally forced earlier this month to relinquish all of his remaining royal titles
October 18, 2025: Reports Andrew allegedly told Met to dig up dirt on Virginia Giuffre
The Mail on Sunday also revealed days later Andrew embroiled the Metropolitan Police and one of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s most senior aides in a campaign to smear his teenage sex accuser.
Another bombshell email obtained by this newspaper exposed how he asked his taxpayer-funded Met bodyguard to investigate Ms Giuffre, passing him her date of birth and confidential social security number.
Astonishingly, the royal then told Ed Perkins, the late Queen’s deputy press secretary, that he had asked one of his personal protection officers – part of the Met’s elite SO14 Royalty Protection Group – to dig up information about Ms Giuffre.
He emailed Mr Perkins hours before this newspaper first published the infamous picture of the duke with 17-year-old Ms Giuffre, which would ultimately bring about his downfall.
‘It would also seem she has a criminal record in the [United] States,’ he wrote. ‘I have given her DoB [date of birth] and social security number for investigation with XXX, the on duty ppo [personal protection officer].’
It is not suggested the officer complied with the prince’s request, while Ms Giuffre’s family has since said she did not have a criminal record.
Her relatives said our revelations ‘expose the lengths to which those implicated try to discredit and defame survivors’.
‘The truth will surface and there will be no shadows in which they can hide,’ they added.
A spokesperson for the Met told the MoS they were ‘actively looking into the claims made’, with the force’s Specialist Crime Command in charge of the investigation.
It raised the prospect that Andrew could become the first royal to be caught up in a criminal probe in more than 20 years.
October 26, 2025: Andrew faces pressure from William and Kate to leave Royal Lodge
It was claimed Andrew was facing mounting pressure to quit Royal Lodge before the Prince and Princess of Wales move into their nearby ‘forever home’.
Royal sources told this newspaper William and Kate want to move into Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park before Bonfire Night.
The eight-bedroom home is just over a mile from Royal Lodge, where Andrew has lived for more than 20 years.
The heir to the throne is said to want his disgraced uncle out of his 30-room mansion by the time they move in.
Negotiations over the ex-duke’s living arrangements began to take place on a daily basis amid a public outcry after it emerged he only pays a ‘peppercorn rent’ on the lavish property.
Andrew cannot legally be evicted from Royal Lodge under the terms of his ‘cast iron’ lease but Palace insiders believed he would inevitably have to move out because of the scale of public anger.
William and Kate are said to be keen to use the half-term break to prepare their children George, 12, Charlotte, ten, and Louis, seven, for their house move.
A source said: ‘Catherine shudders at the thought of living so close to Royal Lodge while Prince Andrew is still in it. William wants him gone before they start to move in next week. It’s not about what Andrew doesn’t want to do anymore. It’s about what he’s going to be told to do.’
The Waleses moved from an apartment in Kensington Palace to Adelaide Cottage, which is just over three miles from Forest Lodge, in August 2022. The MoS has learnt that they had previously wanted to move to Royal Lodge – but Andrew insisted on staying.
October 27, 2025: Andrew and Fergie demand two homes in exchange for leaving Royal Lodge
It had been suggested the former Yorkses demanded royal officials provide two homes at Windsor, after a potential departure from Royal Lodge – one for each of them.
Andrew was said to have requested Harry and Meghan’s former home, Frogmore Cottage.
Fergie, meanwhile, was reportedly eyeing up nearby Adelaide Cottage ahead of Prince William and Kate’s departure next month.
Sources close to the couple, who have been divorced for almost 30 years, have reacted angrily, however, to these reporters.
They insisted the offer is ‘misrepresentative of the truth’ and has, in fact, ‘been on the table for months’.
‘It was an option put forward by the ‘other side’ and at an early stage [in negotiations]’, they claimed.
‘Whether it is still on the table, I don’t know. But the suggestion that they have been demanding a new home each is misrepresentative of the truth.
‘No demands have been made. People have been trying to come up with solutions.’
While Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the claims, insiders say they simply ‘do not recognise’ this version of events, however.
October 30, 2025: Andrew faces private prosecution
Andrew is now facing a private prosecution over allegations of sexual assault, corruption and misconduct in public office in the wake of the Virginia Giuffre scandal.
Anti-monarchy campaign group Republic says it has instructed lawyers to investigate the ex-duke and, if appropriate, press ahead with legal proceedings.
The Daily Mail understands the allegations it is focusing on relate to allegations he sexually assaulted Ms Giuffre, that he asked a royal protection officer to look into her background and impropriety when he served as an official UK trade envoy.
