London: King Charles has formally stripped his brother Andrew Mountbatten Windsor of the title of prince, as US Democrats seek an interview with the disgraced royal over his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew has also lost the designation “his royal highness” after the King issued a Letters Patent, a centuries-old type of document used by monarchs to bestow – and remove – appointments or titles.

An announcement published on Wednesday in The Gazette – Britain’s official public record – said: “THE KING has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 3 November 2025 to declare that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor shall no longer be entitled to hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of ‘Royal Highness’ and the titular dignity of ‘Prince’.”

The King also formally removed the title Duke of York from his brother.

Meanwhile, in the United States, Democrats on a House congressional committee investigating Epstein’s sex trafficking sent Andrew a letter overnight requesting a formal interview, seeking information about the disgraced financier’s co-conspirators and enablers.

Andrew’s name has appeared in documents relating to Epstein, including flight logs, that the committee has already subpoenaed as part of its investigation.

“Well-documented allegations against you, along with your long-standing friendship with Mr Epstein, indicate that you may possess knowledge of his activities relevant to our investigation,” the letter said. It asks for a response by November 20 but does not require Andrew’s co-operation.

Charles announced on October 30 that he was removing his brother’s titles and evicting him from his royal residence at Windsor over his relationship with Epstein.

Pressure had been growing on the palace to oust the 65-year-old prince from his Royal Lodge home over new revelations about his friendship with Epstein and renewed attention on sexual abuse allegations by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, whose posthumous memoir was published last month.

The King went even further to punish Andrew for serious lapses of judgment by removing the title of prince that he has held since birth as a child of a monarch, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Andrew is also being forced to move from Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle where he has lived for more than 20 years, into a more remote home funded by his brother on the King’s 8100-hectare Sandringham Estate in eastern England.

The King’s decision was welcomed by the family of Giuffre, who died by suicide in Australia in April at the age of 41.

She said that in the early 2000s, when she was a teenager, she was caught up in Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring and exploited by Andrew and other influential men. Epstein was found dead in a New York City jail cell in 2019 in what investigators called a suicide.

Andrew denies Giuffre’s allegations.

AP

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