Andrew was reportedly given his marching orders by The King and Prince William
PRINCE Andrew was forced to give up all his royal titles after King Charles held crunch talks with William, it is understood.
The King finally reached “tipping point” with his brother after it was revealed he had lied about cutting ties with paedo pal Jeffrey Epstein.
Charles is understood to have consulted with his eldest son and other members of the Royal Family before giving Andrew his marching orders.
The King is said to have led frantic negotiations this week after The Sun revealed Andrew lied about cutting ties with paedo pal Jeffrey Epstein.
Yesterday afternoon, Palace chiefs were said to be “considering all options” to deal with the disgraced royal.
And just hours later, Andrew, 65, finally fell on his sword and was forced to step down amid growing fury over the sex abuse scandal.
He gave up his Duke of York title, given to him by the late Queen Elizabeth II, and his role as a member of the Order of the Garter.
Palace sources confirmed he will not be invited to Christmas at Sandringham and will likely be banished from all future major royal events.
Royal author Phil Dampier told The Sun the decision was “inevitable” because the crisis had continued to “pile up” for some time.
He said: “This was becoming inevitable as the crisis has been piling up for some time.
“The revelation Andrew had lied has clearly tipped the situation over the edge that made it difficult for the King to endure it any longer.
“There is nowhere to hide for Andrew, perhaps he might be better off starting a new life abroad as he clearly has no future in the UK.
“It’s a very sad downfall for someone who returned from the Falklands War a hero and the fact he has fallen so low is a Greek tragedy.”
At 7pm yesterday, Andrew confirmed the move in a blunt statement through Buckingham Palace.
It read: “In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family…
“…we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family.
“I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.
“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further.
“I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me.
“As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
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Royal sources said Andrew’s daughters Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, will remain princesses in the same way he remains a prince.
Those are titles they are born with and cannot be taken away.
Ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will no longer use the title Duchess of York — which she has not used professionally for many years anyway.
But despite receiving his marching orders, Andrew will be allowed to continue living at Royal Lodge in Windsor.
The former Duke has a “cast-iron” tenancy agreement at the luxurious, 30-room pad until 2078.
However, it is understood the King and Wills are eager to get him out of the mansion, which is located a few miles from Windsor Castle.
It is also just half a mile from the Wales’s new home, Forest Lodge.
Earlier this month, we revealed Andrew sent an email to Epstein on February 28, 2011, saying “we are in this together”.
Andrew told Epstein in the email: “I’m just as concerned for you!
“Don’t worry about me! It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it.
“Otherwise keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”
He signed it HRH Duke of York, adding KG, standing for Knight of the Order of the Garter.
The allegations continued as excerpts from Virginia’s memoir Nobody’s Girl.
Virginia, who committed suicide in April aged 41 has alleged she was trafficked to have sex with Andrew on three occasions.
It proved he lied in his 2019 Newsnight interview in which he claimed he broke off contact with the paedo US financier three months earlier.
Last night, Virginia’s family said his decision to give up the titles was a “victory” for her.
They added: “This decisive action is a powerful step forward in our fight to bring Epstein and Maxwell’s child sex-trafficking network to justice.
“Further, we believe it is appropriate for King Charles to remove the title of Prince.
“This moment serves as victory for Virginia, who consistently maintained he knows what happened, I know what happened…
“… there’s only one of us telling the truth, and I know that’s me”.
“This is not just a victory for her, but for every single survivor of the horrific crimes perpetrated by Epstein and his co-conspirators.
“We hope that the days of impunity for the powerful are over.”
Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing and maintains he has never met Virginia.
This month new details also emerged of his dealings with an alleged Chinese spy.
The late Queen and Charles have already carried out a string of punishments aimed at removing Andrew from royal orbit.
In January 2022, a US judge ruled that a civil sexual assault case against him by Virginia could proceed.
As a result, he was stripped of all his military titles and royal patronages by the Queen.
It was also announced that he would no longer use the style “His Royal Highness” in any official capacity.
In March 2022, Andrew settled out-of-court with Virginia, paying her an undisclosed amount while denying any wrongdoing.
The Palace have previously stepped up efforts to force him out of Royal Lodge by removing his funding and security.
But Andrew clung on after finding new sources of income.
Titles have not been forcibly revoked since World War One when the Titles Deprivation Act was used to remove dukedoms from German princes.
A YouGov poll over the summer had showed two-thirds backed removing his remaining titles.
