Prince Andrew is losing the title He has had the condition since birth and was kicked out of the British royal residence following recent revelations about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The scandal turned out to be too much for his brother, king charles iiiBuckingham Palace said it took action on Thursday.
Prince Andrew’s antics have tested the royal family’s patience for more than four decades, prompting embarrassing headlines, lawsuits and suspicions that the prince, now 65, is using his position for personal gain.
Here are some of the stories that tarnished the reputation of the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II and ultimately forced his brother to be banished from public life.
1984 — Andrew sprays reporters and photographers with paint while touring a construction project in Los Angeles’ Watts neighborhood. “It was fun,” Andrew said, wiping his hands on a newspaper.
2007 – The Prince sells his home in Sunninghill Park, near Windsor Castle, with news reports claiming the buyer paid 20% more than the asking price of £15 million. The buyer was reported to be Timur Kulibayev, the son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the time, raising concerns that the deal was an attempt to buy influence in Britain.
2010 — An undercover reporter posing as a wealthy Arab photographs Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and appears to offer to sell her access to the prince for £500,000 ($670,000 at current exchange rates).
2011 — Andrew is forced to resign as the UK’s special trade envoy following initial reports of links with Epstein. The prince also faced questions about his friendship with Saeed Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi, and his ties to a convicted Libyan gun smuggler.
July 2019 — Epstein is arrested for a second time on sex trafficking charges, then commits suicide in a New York jail. The news draws public attention to allegations that Andrew had sexual relations with at least one underage teenager trafficked by Epstein. Andrew denies the charges.
November 16, 2019 — Andrew attempts to defuse a flurry of criticism by agreeing to an on-camera accusation by BBC reporter Emily Maitlis. The interview backfired as Andrew defended his relationship with Epstein, showed no empathy for the victims, and gave explanations for his actions that many found hard to believe. Andrew said he stopped contacting Epstein in December 2010, but that day will continue to haunt him.
November 20, 2020 — Buckingham Palace announces that Andrew has suspended all royal duties “for the foreseeable future.” Four days later, the prince will be stripped of his role as patron of 230 charities.
2022 — Andrew agrees to settle a New York civil lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17 years old. Andrew did not acknowledge any of Giuffre’s claims, but acknowledged that she had suffered as a victim of sexual abuse. Legal experts estimate that the private settlement cost Andrew as much as $10 million.
2024 — Andrew’s relationship with a suspected Chinese spy is revealed in court documents. The businessman and suspected spy was banned from entering the UK over concerns he posed a threat to national security. Security officials were concerned that the man may have misused his influence over Andrew.
April 25, 2025 — Virginia Giuffre passed away by suicide in Australia, where she had lived since around 2002.
October 12, 2025 — A British newspaper reveals that Prince Andrew sent an email to Prince Epstein on February 28, 2011, more than two months after telling Prince Maitlis he had cut off all contact with his former friend. Andrew wrote the email after continued media coverage of the Epstein scandal, telling him they were “in this together” and “we have to get through it.”
October 17, 2025 — Andrew says he is relinquishing his royal title of Duke of York and other honors because “continued accusations about me distract from the work of Her Majesty and the Royal Family.”
October 30, 2025 — Buckingham Palace announces that the King will strip Andrew of his remaining titles and banish him from the royal residence near Windsor Castle. Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor rather than the Prince, and will have to move into a private residence.
