Prince no more? How William could strip Andrew of his title

Telegraph

3 days ago

The mechanisms open to a future King William to go further are more extensive than is generally reported.
He has the option to decline to invite his uncle to his future Coronation. It would be headline news, but there is a precedent: the Duke of Windsor was excluded from both George VI and Elizabeth II's in the rather different circumstances of living in exile after abdication.
A king can, in certain circumstances, remove the Order of the Garter, which is in the monarch's personal gift.
Parliament has greater powers – it can remove the Dukedom via legislation.
A private members' bill to 'give the Monarch powers to remove titles', mooted in 2022 after the people of York argued they did not want to be associated with the Duke, fell flat. But a government bill to do the same job would doubtless fare much better.
Should another attempt, with the heft of the government behind it, be more successful, Prince Andrew's name could eventually be struck off the Roll of the Peerage where it is currently listed under 'York'.
In any case, the disgrace now associated with Prince Andrew makes it all but certain that his Dukedom will fall into abeyance when he dies. Upon his death, the title the Duke of York will revert to the Crown. It would customarily be bestowed on the monarch's second son, where the time is right. But a grown-up Prince Louis is far more likely to become Duke of Edinburgh.
In agreement with the Palace, Prince Andrew has already stopped using the style of His Royal Highness. But that can be removed via Letters Patent – an ornate but relatively straightforward document issued on the advice of ministers and signed by the king.
One such Letters Patent, issued by George V in 1917, decreed that 'the children of any Sovereign of the United Kingdom and the children of the sons of any such Sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales' shall be called Prince or Princess, with the HRH style.
Thus Prince Andrew, the son of a monarch when he was born, is a Prince. But, should it be considered necessary, a new Letters Patent could change that, too.
But, says a source, such a 'big deal' would best happen through legislation. 'If there was a serious move to take [a title] away, particularly at that level, you do it through both houses [of Parliament],' they added.
None of this, one source emphasises, can be done at the whim of a king; the government is required to take action. But whether it is King Charles acting out of necessity in the near future or his son deciding to lance the boil in years to come, the combined brains of Buckingham Palace and Downing Street could find a way.
'Is it likely at this point?' one source says. 'No. But is it possible? Yes.'
One way for this to come to a head now, suggests Wilson, would be if MPs raise questions about Prince Andrew's time as a trade ambassador, in the context of examining potential misuse of public funds. Any serious findings would mean 'Charles could act in the best interests of preserving the monarchy'.
'The Royal family is in a fragile state,' he adds. 'Arguably in worse shape than during the Abdication when at least the problem got solved fast.
'Here we have seen a terrible shredding process going on, which downgrades our principal institution and sooner or later will render it an international laughing-stock unless something is done, quickly.'
For a Royal family on their summer holidays, renewed headlines about the Duke of York could not be less welcome.
The conversations over the Balmoral breakfast table could get interesting.