Andrew could be stripped of remaining honorary military title, defence secretary says

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor could be stripped of his honorary rank of vice admiral, the Defence Secretary has said.

Andrew was made a vice admiral on his 55th birthday in 2015 and retained the rank even after giving up his other military positions in 2022.

John Healey told Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “We’ve seen Andrew surrender the military positions that he’s had and we’re looking now at the one remaining position he has, which is the honorary vice admiral position and, we’ve got a process underway for that.”

Asked what that process is, he said: “We’re being guided by the King and we’re now looking to remove.”

The King’s brother was stripped of his prince and Duke of York titles by the monarch over his links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein on Thursday.

Now simply known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, he will move from Royal Lodge to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk – with his future accommodation to be privately funded by the monarch.

Earlier in October, it was announced Andrew had agreed to stop using his titles but would remain a prince and retain his dukedom ahead of the publication of the memoirs of the late Virginia Giuffre.

Ms Giuffre, who took her own life earlier this year, has claimed that – as a teenager – she had sex with Andrew on three occasions after being trafficked by billionaire paedophile Epstein and his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Andrew has always denied the allegations.

Ms Giuffre’s family hailed the King’s decision to remove Andrew’s titles, saying: “An ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family, brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage”.

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