(NewsNation) — The fallout from Prince Andrew’s connection with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has the royals taking steps to distance the monarchy from the former Duke of York.
A coat of arms bestowed upon Andrew when he was a child has been removed from Windsor Castle’s St George Chapel, according to the BBC.
The red, yellow, blue and white banner is connected to his membership of the Order of the Garter, which he received in 2006.
Prince Andrew drops royal title
Earlier this month, Andrew announced he was giving up his royal titles, including the Duke of York, after a “discussion with the King.”
“In discussion with the King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family,” the British royal wrote in a statement shared by the BBC.
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Melania Trump, Prince Andrew, Gwendolyn Beck and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, on Feb. 12, 2000. (Photo by Davidoff Studios/Getty Images) -
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – SEPTEMBER 16: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Prince Andrew, Duke of York and King Charles III attend Katharine, Duchess of Kent’s Requiem Mass service at Westminster Cathedral on September 16, 2025 in London, England. Katharine, Duchess of Kent was married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. She died on September 4 at the age of 92 at Kensington Palace surrounded by her family. Having converted to Catholicism in 1994, her funeral takes place at Westminster Cathedral and is the first Catholic funeral to be held for a member of the royal family in modern British history. Her Royal Highness will be laid to rest at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, Windsor. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images) -
FILE -Prince Andrew leaves after attending the Christmas day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham in Norfolk, England, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
“I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life,” he added.
As part of Prince Andrew giving up his title, he is no longer a member of the Order of the Garter.
Prince Andrew to Jeffrey Epstein: ‘We’ll play some more soon’
The announcement came just days after an email from 2011 surfaced revealing Andrew supporting Epstein after a photo showed Andrew with his arm around a teenage Virginia Giuffre.
“We are in this together,” Andrew wrote to Epstein, according to The Guardian.
Other messages Andrew wrote to Epstein included “keep in close touch” and one that expressed a wish to “play some more soon.”
“I’m just as concerned for you!” the email said. “Don’t worry about me! It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it. Otherwise, keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”
In 2021, Giuffre filed a lawsuit against Andrew, saying he sexually abused her when she was a teenager.
Giuffre said Epstein introduced her to Andrew in London in 2001. She alleged in her lawsuit that Ghislaine Maxwell forced her to have sex with the prince, NewsNation previously reported.
Andrew denied ever meeting Giuffre, saying the alleged incident “didn’t happen.” Giuffre and Andrew settled “in principle” in 2022.
NewsNation’s Rob Taub contributed to this report
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