Axe falls on Prince Andrew's title as royal family updates official website
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have relinquished their royal titles
October 20, 2025
The official website of the British royal family has updated Prince Andrew’s profile to reflect his October 17 announcement that he will no longer use his aristocratic titles, most notably the Duke of York.
As of Monday, the page header now reads simply “Prince Andrew” rather than “The Duke of York.”
While the biographical content still references the dukedom and other honours he previously held, the shift signals a formal repositioning of his role within the monarchy.
The update follows a Buckingham Palace statement in which Andrew said that “continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family.”
Although he has pledged not to use titles such as Duke of York, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and Royal Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter, Andrew technically retains them , since only Parliament can revoke them permanently.
The web revision is both symbolic and strategic, aiming to draw a clearer boundary between Andrew and the active royal household.
While the website change is modest, it underscores the monarchy’s broader efforts to manage a high-profile reputation crisis involving Andrew’s long-standing associations with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
