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.
