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The former Duke of York is in line to receive a large one-off payment and an annual stipend designed to prevent him overspending in his new life as a commoner, the Guardian understands.
One option for a relocation settlement, as the king strives for a “once and for all” solution to the problem of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, includes an initial six-figure sum to cover his move from Royal Lodge in Windsor to private accommodation in Sandringham, Norfolk.
This would be followed by an annuity, paid from Charles’s private funds, and thought to be several times Mountbatten Windsor’s £20k-a-year navy pension, sources close to the matter said. Talks on the relocation package are believed to be ongoing.
Now stripped of his titles including prince and HRH, Mountbatten Windsor was struck from the official roll of the peerage just hours after Buckingham Palace announced the formal process had been initiated.
A palace statement on Thursday said the king had started the formal process “to remove the style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew” and that “formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease” on Royal Lodge.
It added: “Their majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
The prime minister, Keir Starmer, is said to fully support the king’s decision. A Downing Street spokesperson said: “Our hearts go out to the family of Virginia Giuffre and all the victims who suffered from Jeffrey Epstein’s despicable crimes.”
Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, told the Guardian that the Palace statement was a royal “acknowledgement that something occurred” between the disgraced duke and his sister, who died by suicide this year.
He added: “I think that [the king is] speaking very clearly in that statement when he says he’s with survivors out there.”
The government was consulted before Buckingham Palace’s announcement, and has made clear its belief it is constitutionally proper for the king to make this decision.
It is understood that the Cabinet Office worked with the king’s senior aides to find a solution that would avoid use of parliamentary time, and consulted with several constitutional experts. The king ultimately opted to abolish the dukedom using his powers of royal prerogative.
A royal warrant and letters patent to formally remove Mountbatten Windsor’s entitlement to use his prince and HRH style will be processed over the next few days.
A senior government minister suggested on Friday that Mountbatten Windsor should go to the US to answer questions on Jeffrey Epstein if asked. Trade minister Sir Chris Bryant told BBC Breakfast: “I think that just as with any ordinary member of the public, if there were requests from another jurisdiction of this kind, I would expect any decently minded person to comply with that request. So I feel exactly the same in this situation.
“What I’m basically saying is that I think that if Andrew is asked to do something by a Senate committee, then I would have thought that he would want to comply.”
Scotland Yard is considering whether it should launch new criminal investigations into the alleged activities of the former prince. He is now caught up in two inquiries by British police.
One is a “scoping” exercise – an inquiry before a formal criminal investigation is launched – into whether Virginia Giuffre’s posthumously published memoirs and other recent claims requires a full investigation. The second inquiry follows claims that Mountbatten Windsor tried to get his police protection officers to dig up dirt on Giuffre.
While the loss of his titles comes into effect immediately, the former prince is not expected to leave Royal Lodge until after Christmas, which means he will – conveniently – not be present when the royals gather at Sandringham for the holiday.
Discussions about Mountbatten Windsor’s tenure on Royal Lodge reportedly grew more urgent in late 2024, when the Prince and Princess of Wales decided to move to Forest Lodge, less than two miles away.
As they intend to remain in their new home when William eventually becomes king, the couple feared the PR implications of having his uncle as a close neighbour, sources told the Guardian.
Sources also said William and Kate felt deeply frustrated at the lack of acknowledgment of Epstein’s victims in the statement Mountbatten Windsor released two weeks ago, announcing he was voluntarily relinquishing the use of his titles.
Buckingham Palace has previously said that the royal family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, fully support the king’s leadership on this matter, and all decisions have been the king’s, with the support of the wider family.
While Charles is expected to make private financial provision for his brother, Mountbatten Windsor’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will make her own arrangements. Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice will retain their titles as daughters of the son of a sovereign, in line with King George V’s letters patent of 1917.
The decision to strip Mountbatten Windsor of his titles followed two weeks of difficult negotiations following his statement he would cease to use them, a move which failed to stem negative headlines. Palace sources indicated the latest move was prompted by serious lapses of judgment over the former prince’s involvement with Epstein, and that the necessity of action was never in doubt.
The king’s decision was almost certainly influenced by Giuffre’s memoir, Nobody’s Girl, exclusive extracts from which were published in the Guardian. These repeated her allegation – strenuously denied by Mountbatten Windsor – that she had been forced to have sex with the then prince on three occasions while trafficked by Epstein.
Thursday’s palace statement made clear that the censures were “deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he [Mountbatten Windsor] continues to deny the allegations against him”.
Throughout the process, the palace is understood to have been conscious of the impact the king’s decision will have on his brother and his family.
Pressure had intensified as MPs called for parliamentary debate on Mountbatten Windsor’s position, and as the public accounts committee released a list of detailed questions they had sent to the crown estate about his 75-year lease on Royal Lodge.
Despite the king’s move, Mountbatten Windsor remains eighth in the line of succession to the throne. A change to this would require primary legislation, for which there are no current plans.
“Clearly it would take quite a catastrophe for him to become king, given all those that are ahead of him,” said Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine. “So might it not have been tidier to withdraw him from the line of succession?”
The former prince also remains a counsellor of state, albeit inactive, as parliament has previously been assured only working royals would be eligible to act as stand-ins for the king should he be incapacitated or abroad.
Mountbatten Windsor is said to have had a “cast-iron” lease for Royal Lodge, and only after negotiations with the king’s representatives did he agree to serve formal notice to surrender the agreement, which had more than 50 years left to run.
Though the process of surrendering the lease and other formalities can be drawn out, it is understood that things are moving as quickly as practicable.
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace were approached for comment.
