Britain's King Charles has stripped his younger brother Andrew of his princely title and forced him to leave his home near Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace said Thursday, punishing him for his links to Jeffrey Epstein, the late paedophile.
Andrew, 65, Charles' younger brother and the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth, has come under increasing pressure over his behaviour and links to Epstein and earlier this month he was forced to stop using his title of Duke of York.
Charles has now escalated his actions against Andrew by stripping him of his titles, leaving him to be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
The Buckingham Palace statement said that a formal notice had also been sent to Andrew to give up the lease on his Royal Lodge residence on the Windsor Estate, west of London, and he will move to alternative private accommodation in eastern England.
"These criticisms are considered necessary, despite the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him," the palace said. "Their Majesties wish to make it clear that their deepest thoughts and sympathies have been and remain with the victims and survivors of all forms of abuse," the statement said.
In recent weeks, British newspapers have turned their attention to Andrew's finances after the Times reported that he had not paid rent on his 30-room mansion for two decades but had funded at least 7.5 million pounds ($10.07 million) in renovations when he moved in.
In a rare political intervention, a British parliamentary committee on Wednesday questioned whether Andrew should still live at home.