Prince William is reportedly preparing to take a tougher stance on his uncle, Prince Andrew, by excluding him from his future coronation and other royal occasions, following renewed scrutiny over Andrew’s association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
According to The Sunday Times, the Prince of Wales was consulted on the decision that led to Andrew relinquishing his Duke of York title but is said to believe that the issue surrounding his uncle remains unresolved. The report claimed William is planning a “more ruthless” approach, ensuring Andrew is permanently sidelined from royal life, both public and private.
The decision follows reports that Prince Andrew allegedly attempted to have the Metropolitan Police gather damaging information about Virginia Giuffre, his accuser in the sexual assault case. The Mail on Sunday reported that in 2011, Andrew provided Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to his taxpayer-funded bodyguard, asking him to investigate her. The officer reportedly did not act on the request.
Andrew, who continues to hold the title of prince and resides at the Royal Lodge, recently issued a statement announcing his decision to give up his Duke of York title and honours. He said he made this choice to avoid distracting from the King’s work and that of the wider royal family, reaffirming that he “vigorously denies the accusations” against him.
Sources close to the royal household have long suggested that William wished to act decisively regarding Andrew’s conduct and his links to Epstein. Reports indicate that when William becomes king, he will formally ban Andrew from all royal duties and events, including the coronation, as well as most state occasions. Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, is also expected to be excluded from future royal gatherings, though their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will remain welcome.
The Mail on Sunday also reported that Andrew had emailed the late Queen’s deputy press secretary about his efforts to gather information on Giuffre, hours before the now-infamous photograph of him with his arm around her was first published. The newspaper said it obtained the email from documents disclosed by the US Congress. The Metropolitan Police have since confirmed they are “looking into the claims.”
Government officials have voiced concern over the revelations. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband described the allegations as “deeply concerning,” adding that if proven true, such behaviour would represent a misuse of protection officers. He said any action to strip Andrew of further titles would be left to the royal family, as they had indicated they did not wish to take up parliamentary time with the matter.
Virginia Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, told ITV News that while he commended King Charles for taking action, he believed more could be done. He urged the King to go further and remove Andrew’s remaining title of prince.
Tensions between William and Andrew reportedly became evident at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral in September, where witnesses said William appeared to ignore his uncle. The King has already ruled that Andrew will no longer attend the royal family’s Christmas Day service, with recent developments viewed as his final exclusion from royal life.
Andrew’s fall from grace has been years in the making. He was stripped of his official duties and military titles in 2022 after paying millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Virginia Giuffre. Although the settlement accepted no liability, it deepened public outrage following his disastrous 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, in which he said he did not regret his friendship with Epstein and denied meeting Giuffre, famously claiming he was at a Pizza Express in Woking on the day she alleged the assault took place.
Giuffre’s forthcoming memoir, due for release this week, has reignited attention on the case and on Andrew’s past connections with Epstein, intensifying pressure on the royal family as they navigate one of their most damaging scandals in decades.
