The former Duke of York has retained his honour of the Freedom of the City of London after inheriting the status from his late father Prince Philip – but it could now be stripped from him
Disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is set to be stripped of one of his final honours after failing to respond to the request to voluntarily give it up.
Despite having all of his royal titles stripped by the King back in October in the wake of the release of the Epstein files, the shamed former Duke of York was able to retain the Freedom of the City of London honour. He received it 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.
The City of London Corporation, which is in charge of the Square Mile, previously believed it was unable to revoke the honour – and wrote to the ex-prince to ask him to surrender it voluntarily.
He failed to respond to the request, and it has now emerged that a new bill is being drafted by legal officials at the Corporation, which, if passed, would allow elected members to vote to remove the honour.
The former Duke of York was arrested – but not charged – earlier this year on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has denied all wrongdoing.
A City of London Corporation spokesperson told the Mirror: “We are developing a process that would allow the Freedom of the City of London to be removed where appropriate, having determined that there is currently no effective lawful mechanism to do so.”
They added: “We understand why people want this matter resolved as quickly as possible, and we share that desire. The fastest and most appropriate approach is to put in place a lawful process that allows the City Corporation to make these decisions itself, rather than seeking legislation through Parliament.
“We are progressing that work and, if elected Members approve the new process, they will then be able to consider whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s Freedom should be removed.”
It comes after his failure to respond to the Corporation’s request saw a motion of censure – a formal expression of disapproval – passed against Mr Mountbatten-Windsor in May.
The City Corporation’s Court of Common Council said it considered his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to be “wholly unacceptable and inconsistent” with the status and obligations of a Freeman of the City of London.
In its motion of censure, the court said there was “profound disappointment” the former prince had “not surrendered his Freedom despite being asked to do so”.
The City Corporation said its thoughts “remain firmly with the victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and all victims of sexual abuse and exploitation”.
Having the honour of 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.
Mr 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 following allegations he shared sensitive information with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.
He was held for 11 hours before being released under investigation by Thames Valley Police. It emerged in May that detectives investigating Andrew will consider allegations of sexual misconduct in their inquiry into potential misconduct in public office. 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. 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.
It will consider introducing such legislation once police have finished their investigation into the King’s disgraced brother, it is understood.
Such a move would require an Act of Parliament and the agreement of the Commonwealth realms. The prime ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand have previously said they would support the UK Government in any plans to remove Mr Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession.
