The British government announced on Sunday that it will strip former Prince Andrew of his honorary title of vice admiral, his last remaining military rank. This happened as a result of the scandal associated with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
“We have seen Andrew relinquish the honorary posts he held in the military. We are now working under the king’s leadership to strip him of his last remaining vice-admiral title,” British Defense Secretary John Healey told the BBC.
Royal titles and implications
This step occurred after King Karol III. on Thursday, he stripped his younger brother of all remaining royal titles and honors amid growing UK public outrage over Andrew’s ties to Epstein. Andrew thus lost his title of prince.
Andrew was stripped of His Royal Highness and other military titles several years ago. He renounced his title of Duke of York and other honors in mid-October.
The background of the scandal
The King’s younger brother previously served as a Royal Navy helicopter pilot in the Falklands War in 1982. He retired in 2001 after 22 years of service.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to sexually abusing underage girls. He died in his prison cell in August 2019. It was officially a suicide.
The king’s brother was a longtime friend of both Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of British tycoon Robert Maxwell, who was later convicted of facilitating the trafficking of minors.
The case of Virginia Giuffre
Prince Andrew’s name was mentioned in connection with the American Virginia Giuffre, who claimed that Epstein and Maxwell forced her to have sex with him, when she was 17 years old. Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations.
In 2021, Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit against the prince in the US. Andrew decided to avoid a trial and reached an out-of-court settlement in 2022, in which he paid around 12 million pounds (13.5 million euros), according to British media. However, he pleaded not guilty in the out-of-court settlement.
