Prince Andrew latest: Duke of York facing calls to pay for own security and to be stripped of dukedom

The Duke of York is facing calls to pay for his own security and lose his dukedom as the fallout from his civil sex case continues.

Criticism of Prince Andrew is mounting after the Queen stripped him of his remaining patronages and honorary military roles as the monarchy distanced itself from the duke ahead of potentially damaging developments in his lawsuit.

His dramatic fall in the standing of the royal family came after Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit against him took a major step forward on Wednesday when a judge threw out a motion by the duke’s lawyers to dismiss the sexual assault case and ruled it can go to trial.

She is suing the duke in the US for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager and claims she was trafficked by Andrew’s friend, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, to have sex with the duke when she was 17 and a minor under US law.

The duke has strenuously denied the allegations.

At a glance 5 key points

• Prince Andrew was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages
• He will also no longer use the HRH style
• His dukedom was granted to him by the Queen on his wedding day
• A campaign to strip him of the dukedom of York has been launched
• There have also been calls for him to pay for his own security
• A statement from Buckingham Palace on Thursday said he was defending the civil case against him as a “private citizen”

What has been said about his police protection?

Graham Smith, chief executive officer of the organisation Republic, called on the Queen’s second son to foot the bill for his police protection as there was no prospect of him returning to royal duties.

During a radio interview, security minister Damian Hinds refused to confirm whether the duke will still receive taxpayer-funded security.

Mr Smith, whose organisation campaigns for an elected head of state, said: “Given that he’s no longer in any real sense a member of the royal household it does make sense he pays for his own security.

He said about the Queen’s decision to strip the duke of his military affiliations: “This is all about protecting the monarchy, it’s not about a mother doing the right thing by her son and it’s not about worrying about the justice for the women abused by Epstein and his friends, it’s about protecting the royals for the future generations.”

What has been said about his dukedom?

Through his title Duke of York, Andrew and his immediate family have a close connection with the city of York but some of its politicians want to sever those ties.

Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, tweeted it was “untenable” for Andrew to cling on to his title “another day longer” and Darryl Smalley, a senior member of City of York Council, launched a campaign to strip Andrew of his dukedom.

Mr Smalley, Liberal Democrat executive member for culture, leisure and communities at the City of York Council, said: “Whilst Prince Andrew remains innocent until proven guilty, Buckingham Palace and the Government must consider the implications of these troubling allegations moving forward.

“Having been stripped of his military roles and royal patronages by the Queen, he should also now relinquish his title as Duke of York.”

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