Two thirds of Britons back removal of Duke of York's titles

Independent

a day ago

Two thirds of Britons believe the Duke of York should be stripped of his remaining royal titles, according to a new poll.
Research by YouGov found that 67% of the public would back the removal of Andrew's York dukedom, as well as his princely title.
An unflattering biography of the disgraced duke by Andrew Lownie this month delved into the private life of the late Queen's son, depicting him as sex obsessed, a 'useful idiot' and easy prey for Jeffrey Epstein.
Some 13% opposed the removal of his titles and 21% were unsure, the survey showed.
Three years ago, 62% believed Andrew should have his York title removed, with the current 67% in-favour figure seeing a jump of five percentage points.
Another YouGov survey found that just 5% have a positive view of the King's brother, with Andrew languishing at the bottom of the royal favourability tables, beneath the Duchess of Sussex who has a 20% positive rating and the Duke of Sussex at 28%.
Legislation would be required for Parliament to prevent Andrew continuing as the Duke of York, while his birthright to be a prince, as the son of a monarch, could be changed if a Letters Patent were issued by the King.
The duke stopped using his style of His Royal Highness following his disastrous Newsnight interview, but it could be removed entirely by a Letters Patent.
Andrew stepped away from his public role in 2019 amid the furore over his friendship with convicted billionaire paedophile Epstein.
He later paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Virginia Giuffre, who was trafficked by Epstein as a teenager and who Andrew claimed never to have met.