Duke of York loses freedom of the city after council vote

THE DUKE OF YORK has been stripped of the freedom of the city of York after councillors voted to remove the honorary title in response to his settlement of a US sexual assault case.

The Duke has held the honour since February 1987, when he was presented with it by the council of the time as a wedding gift.

Last night, city of York councillors used an extraordinary meeting to hold a vote to remove the honorary freedom, as well as renewing calls for the Duke, 62, to relinquish his Duke of York title.

It came after the Duke reached an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Roberts Giuffre in February, which meant he no longer faced a jury trial on claims that he sexually abused and raped her on three separate occasions when she was 17.

He denied the claims.

The financial deal is understood to exceed £12 million, including a £2 million contribution to Ms Giuffre’s sex trafficking charity thought to have been paid by the Queen.

In the council meeting yesterday, the motion to remove the honorary title from the Duke was unanimously carried with two abstentions. It was supported by both the council’s ruling Liberal Democrats group and the Labour group.

The Duke was said to have been contacted by council officers in advance of the meeting to inform him of the planned move.

Dave Taylor, an independent councillor, supported the vote and told the

‘My hope is that in the future, the monarch might appoint Princess Beatrice to be Duchess of York’

meeting he hoped there would be further action by the Queen to appoint a new Duchess of York.

He said: “My personal hope is that in the future, the monarch might appoint Princess Beatrice to be Duchess of York.

“In contrast to her father, she is personable, intelligent and does her homework when visiting the city of York.”

One member of the public who spoke before the motion said the Duke should now be considered a “persona non grata” in the city.