The Prince was utterly devastated and tearful when he was told the news
But forces chiefs breathe sigh of relief
PRINCE Andrew was left tearful after being told by the Queen he was being stripped of his honorary military titles, it was claimed last night.
The Duke of York was said to be utterly devastated by his mother’s bombshell decision.
It came just a fortnight after the Sunday People exclusively revealed Her Majesty would reluctantly strip her son of his prized roles if he did not resign.
However Andrew, 61, did not bite the bullet – and will now have to write grovelling letters to his former regiments, it is understood.
A senior defence source said: “The Prince was tearful when told the news even though he had expected it. He feels that he has let so many people down, not least his mother, during her Platinum Jubilee year.”
Our source said Andrew’s ousting had been greeted by a huge sigh of relief from armed forces top brass, who described him as “a bloody embarrassment”.
The move came after a US judge ruled a civil case in New York against Andrew by his sex accuser Virginia Giuffre can go ahead. Andrew strenously denies any wrongdoing.
Our insider said of the royal’s dramatic demotion: “He had hoped that he might get some sort of stay of execution and be allowed to clear his name before his titles were removed.
“There are a number of people in the royal household who are utterly convinced that he is innocent.
“But the clamour for Andrew’s scalp meant that a quick and brutal decision needed to be made.”
The move, announced in a shock Palace statement on Thursday, left Andrew exiled from official royal life and facing life as a private citizen.
He was also told he will no longer be able to use the title of His Royal Highness in any official capacity.
Relief
The move came after years of damaging speculation arising from Ms Giuffre’s claim she was forced to have sex with the duke three times when she was 17, including once in London.
Andrew’s plight worsened when his former friend Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, was found guilty of offences relating to her work as fixer for the late billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, another Andrew associate.
One senior defence source said: “Andrew is a victim of very poor de
cision-making. There is no way he could continue as the honorary head of distinguished military regiments.
“His departure has been greeted with a huge sigh of relief. He had become a bloody embarrassment.
“He could not be present at parades, visit units or welcome troops home from operations because the story would always be about sex scandals and not about the regiments.”
The duke, who had a 21-year active career in the Royal Navy and served as a helicopter pilot in the 1982 Falklands war, held the honorary rank of Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.
He was also Colonel-in-chief of the 9/12th Royal Lancers, the Royal Irish Regiment, the Yorkshire Regiment, the Small Arms School Corps, and Royal Colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers. Plus he was Honorary
Air Commodore of RAF
Lossiemouth and Commodore-in-chief of the Fleet Air Arm.
Our source said Andrew is to write to each of the regiments expressing his sorrow at having to leave.
“He fully maintains his innocence, but wants to apologise for the difficulties caused by what has happened,” the insider added.
The Duke has also lost a number of overseas honorary military titles.
He was Colonel-in-chief of the Queen’s York Rangers (Canada), the Royal Highland Fusiliers of
Canada, the Princess Louise Fusiliers (Canada) and Colonel-in-chief of the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment. The defence source continued: “The big question now is who is going to fill these roles.
“They all need to be filled by senior royals which means Prince Charles, who is extremely busy, Princess Anne who already has 19 military titles, Prince Edward or Prince William.
Mess
“Honorary titles are hugely important. The role of Captain General of the Royal Marines was held by Prince Philip for 64 years. He knew the Royal Marines intimately.
“When he handed that role over to Prince Harry his parting words were apparently ‘don’t mess it up’ because it meant so much to him.” But the Queen
was reluctantly forced to strip Harry, 37, of the role because he chose to step down from royal duties when he moved to America with wife Meghan.
Yesterday Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, 62, emerged in public together for the first time since he lost his honorary titles.
The couple, who divorced in 1996 but remain close, looked sombre as Andrew drove them from his Royal Lodge home in Windsor Great Park.
There have also been calls for Andrew to be stripped of his Duke of York title. Andrew took the name, traditionally granted to the monarch’s second son, on his marriage to Sarah in 1986. She is still the Duchess of York.
Andrew, whose helicopter acted as a decoy for Argentinian cruise missiles during the Falklands war, will also keep his Royal Navy rank of vice-admiral.
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