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King Charles has officially stripped the former Duke of York, now Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, of his HRH style and his prince title.
Charles formally made the changes, which were announced a week ago, by issuing a letters patent under the Great Seal of the Realm, which the Crown Office published in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
The entry, published on Wednesday, read: “The king has been pleased by letters patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 3 November 2025 to declare that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor shall no longer be entitled to hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of ‘Royal Highness’ and the titular dignity of ‘Prince’.”
Another entry confirmed Mountbatten Windsor’s removal from the roll of peerage as the Duke of York. It read: “The king has been pleased by warrant under his royal sign manual dated 30 October 2025 to direct his secretary of state to cause the Duke of York to be removed from the roll of the peerage with immediate effect.”
The king’s decision to remove his sibling’s birthright and dukedom followed growing controversy over Mountbatten Windsor’s links to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including that caused by the posthumous publication of Virginia Giuffre’s memoir.
Giuffre alleged that the former prince had sexually abused her after she was trafficked by Epstein, claims Mountbatten Windsor has always strenuously denied.
The king chose to remove Mountbatten Windsor’s titles using his royal prerogative – powers recognised as held by the monarch - after consultation with Cabinet Office officials, rather than by parliamentary means.
Letters patent are instruments of that prerogative, along with royal warrants, which the monarch uses to bestow titles and honours. Because the HRH style is conferred by letters patent under the royal prerogative, it can be removed by the same instrument.
After Buckingham Palace’s announcement a week ago, the lord chancellor, David Lammy, was instructed by royal warrant to prepared the documents necessary for the removal of the titles.
The king’s decision, which also includes Mountbatten Windsor giving notice on his lease on Royal Lodge, the 30-room Crown Estate property in Windsor where he has lived for two decades, was fully supported by the government.
It was confirmed on Wednesday that Mountbatten Windsor would be allowed to retain his South Atlantic medal awarded for his service as a Sea King helicopter co-pilot during the Falklands conflict.
