Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received the Freedom of the City of London through his late father Prince Philip – and it is one of his last remaining honours
Shamed Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has failed to respond to a request to give up one of his last remaining honours – and is set to be formally condemned.
Despite having all of his royal titles stripped by the King back in October, one honour he has retained is the Freedom of the City of London.
The former Duke of York received the honour in 2012 “by virtue of patrimony” as his late father, Prince Philip, was made a Freeman of London, which allows his children to inherit the status too. Last month, elected members of the City of London Corporation wrote to Mountbatten-Windsor, inviting him to give up the honour after a review showed that it cannot be removed.
But it has now emerged that the ex-prince has failed to reply to the letter by the Corporation, which is in charge of the Square Mile, and members have “now agreed to bring forward a motion of censure – a formal expression of our disapproval.”
A City of London Corporation spokesperson told the BBC: “We wrote to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in April, inviting him to formally relinquish his Freedom of the City of London.
“Following his failure to respond, elected members of our Policy and Resources Committee have agreed to bring forward a motion of censure – a formal expression of our disapproval – to the next meeting of the Court of Common Council on 21 May.
“There is currently no effective legal mechanism to remove a Freedom. Our thoughts remain firmly with the victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and all victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.” The Mirror has contacted the City of London Corporation for comment.
Having the Freedom of the City of London is largely a ceremonial role – and is awarded to people nominated by corporation councillors. The freedom is believed to have started in 1237 and enabled recipients to carry out their trade.
Those who have received the honour in recent years are astronaut Major Tim Peake and comedian Sir Lenny Henry. The ancient honour allows recipients to walk sheep over London Bridge.
All of Andrew’s siblings – including the King – also have freedom of the city of London. Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on his 66th birthday in February, at his temporary residence of Wood Farm on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was held for 11 hours before being released under investigation by Thames Valley Police.
The government is understood to be considering new legislation to boot him out of the line of succession, so he loses his place as eighth in line to the throne.
His arrest came following allegations that he passed on confidential information to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein as part of his role as a trade envoy for Britain. He has not been charged and has denied all wrongdoing. In 2022, he was stripped of the freedom of York following revelations about his relationship with Epstein.
