Northern Ireland street named for 'Prince Andrew' set for renaming

A Northern Irish council has taken the first step to rename UK’s only “Prince Andrew Way” but authorities are cautioning that the process is not straightforward.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has unanimously agreed to initiate the official procedure of changing the name of the street in Carrickfergus.

Back in 1986, the road was named to honour the then-Duke of York’s marriage to Sarah Ferguson.

The move comes in the wake of Prince Andrew’s link with the Jeffery Epstein and the subsequent allegations made by late Virginia Giuffre, which was vehemently denied by formal royalty.

Earlier this year, Andrew was stripped of his royal and military titles by King Charles III.

The movement of renaming the street was brought by Alliance Party Councillor Lauren Gray, who stated that public demand for a change has grown substantially.

She suggested that the new name should retain a link to the royal family, proposing “Queen Elizabeth II” as a fitting tribute to the late monarch.

But, as reported by Sky News, the council’s interim chief executive, Valerie Watts, tempered expectations by cautioning that there is no existing policy for changing street names and the process is quite more complex than anticipated.

She underlined the “far-reaching implications” for the approximately ten residents on the street, who would need to update their address with banks, utility companies, and on driving licenses.

The council will now conduct a thorough investigation into the legal and logistical prerequisites, which includes consulting with agencies such as Royal Mail, and will launch a public consultation enabling residents to have their word on the new proposed name.