“Son, you’re grounded.” Prince Andrew was told face-to-face by his mother, Queen Elizabeth, that he will no longer be known as His Royal Highness, The Post is told. Looking stony-faced, the embattled Duke of York was driven a few miles from his house, Royal Lodge, to Windsor Castle on Thursday morning. There, the Queen, 95, broke the news that she was stripping her 61-year-old son of all his remaining military titles and royal patronages in the wake of the sex-assault lawsuit brought against him by Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Andrew has denied the charges against him. During a private audience, the monarch told Andrew he will no longer be known as His Royal Highness “in any official capacity” — and that he will be left to fight his lawsuit in the US as a private citizen. Royal sources said it’s believed that Prince Charles and Prince William discussed the issue with the palace as well. Andrew is only the fifth royal in recent history to stop using the HRH title. Princess Diana and Sarah, Duchess of York, lost the styling after their divorces from Prince Charles and Prince Andrew, respectively, while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle agreed to lose theirs as part of their “Megxit” deal with the Queen. However, one highly placed royal source said: “The difference between the statement that the Queen made about Harry and Meghan and Andrew could not be more telling.” After Harry and his wife quit the royal family in January 2020, his normally stoic grandmother released a statement saying: “While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family.” Meanwhile, the terse palace statement released Thursday read: “With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen. “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties.” And while the two reportedly remain close, the royal source told The Post: “There was nothing from the Queen about her sadness or dismay, nothing emotional at all. It was so cutting.” It was then briefed that Andrew would no longer use his HRH title. The Post reported Wednesday that Andrew — a Royal Navy veteran who served with distinction as a helicopter pilot during the Falklands War — faced the prospect of losing his HRH title, military title and patronages after federal Judge Lewis Kaplan gave Giuffre the go-ahead to bring her case to court in the US. Sources speculated that the Queen, who is believed to have been funding Andrew’s legal defense from her private accounts, may continue to do so. It’s reported that he receives around $323,000 a year from her. Among the titles stripped from Andrew is colonel of the Grenadier Guards, a post he took over from his late father, Prince Philip, and which allowed him to ride in the Trooping the Color, the annual military parade to celebrate the Queen’s official birthday. The palace is in the midst of organizing the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations for June, and sources said it would be hugely embarrassing to have Andrew play an official role in the proceedings. A source close Andrew also told The Post that he would “continue to defend himself” against Giuffre’s allegations. He is not believed to want to settle, leaving him open to embarrassing details coming to light in court. Giuffre claims she was forced to sleep with him when she was 17 and being kept as a sex slave by Andrew’s former friends Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The close source said: “Given the robustness with which Judge Kaplan greeted [the] arguments, we are unsurprised by the ruling. However, it was not a judgement on the merits of Ms. Giuffre’s allegations. This is a marathon not a sprint, and the duke will continue to defend himself against these claims.” The next time Andrew is expected to appear in public will be at a memorial service for Prince Philip at Westminster Cathedral this spring.
