The government is set to remove Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s
last military title at the request of King Charles, said its
Secretary of State for Defence.
John Healey, the Secretary of State for Defence, appeared on BBC’s Sunday with Laura
Kuenssberg and told the host that King Charles has
requested that his brother’s rank of Vice Admiral of the Royal Navy
be removed.
“This is a move that’s right, it’s a move the King has
indicated we should take and we’re working on that at the
moment,” Healey said.
While Andrew
Mountbatten Windsor lost all of his honorary military appointments
in 2022, he retained his military rank. Queen Elizabeth II
appointed her second son with the rank of Vice Admiral on his
birthday in 2015.
Healey said: “We’ve seen Andrew surrender the honorary
positions he’s had throughout the military. Guided again by the
king, we are working now to remove that last remaining title of
vice-admiral that he has.”
Last week, King Charles announced that he would begin the
process of removing all of Andrew’s titles and styles. The move
came after Andrew announced that he would stop using his titles,
though they would still be retained.
King Charles will send Royal Warrants to the Lord Chancellor to
have the titles Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh,
Prince of the United Kingdom removed from the Peerage Roll. The
style of His Royal Highness will also be stricken; and the honours
of the Order of the Garter and the Royal Victorian Order will be
stripped from Andrew officially as well.
Andrew will also be required to leave Royal Lodge. King Charles
will move his younger brother to a home on the Sandringham Estate,
which is privately owned by the Royal Family.
