Prince Andrew, from left, Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell pictured inside Maxwell’s London townhouse in March 2001. "I asked Epstein to take our picture with my disposable camera. Hours later, I was forced to have sex with the prince," Giuffre writes in her posthumous memoir.

Prince Andrew is officially being stripped of his royal titles, the palace announced.

King Charles III initiated the formal process to remove of the style, titles and honors of the former Prince Andrew, who will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, Buckingham Palace said in a statement Thursday, Oct. 30.

Windsor will also leave his royal residence at the Royal Lodge, the palace said, and he'll be moved to an alternative private accommodation. The move comes three years after he was ousted as a senior royal following allegations over his connections to convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him," Buckingham Palace said in the announcement. "Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse."

Though the former Duke of York continues to deny collaborating with the disgraced sex offender, he previously said he agrees the controversy surrounding him has posed a distraction for the royal family.

"In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family. I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life," Andrew said in an Oct. 17 statement shared by Buckingham Palace.

Andrew's late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, stripped him of his patronages and military associations in 2022, making him a royal persona non grata. The decision occurred after the settlement of sex abuse lawsuit filed against him by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who died by suicide in Australia earlier this year.

Since then, the 65-year-old has only made public appearances at family events, including his parents' funerals and, most recently, the funeral of Britain's Duchess of Kent, Katharine, in September.

Where will former Prince Andrew live?

Andrew is slated to move to a property on the private Sandringham estate. However, the palace said it will not offer any further details, simply adding "any future accommodation will be privately funded by The King."

Will Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie keep their titles?

Following the removal of Andrew's titles, many are curious whether his daughters, Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 37, will retain theirs.

Under King George V's Letters Patent of 1917, the pair will continue to be princesses as they are children of the son of a sovereign, according to Buckingham Palace.

Andrew's great-uncle, King Edward VIII, retained his royal titles even after he abdicated the throne in December 1936 to marry his wife and became Duke of Windsor, a title granted by his brother King George VI.

Does King Charles have the power to do this?

King Charles has opted to begin the formal removal process of Andrew's titles without involving Parliament.

"That would take up precious Parliamentary time, preventing Parliament from focusing on urgent national issues. The King is doing all he can within his own Royal Prerogative," Buckingham Palace said.

However, Buckingham Palace said it has notified relevant government authorities and properly supports the decision.

What were Andrew's roles?

Andrew served as Lord Chancellor, responsible for overseeing the Roll of the Peerage.

"His Majesty is sending Royal Warrants to the Lord Chancellor to secure the removal of the Dukedom of York from the Peerage Roll, and the Title of Prince and Style of 'Royal Highness," Buckingham Palace said.

Is the removal against Andrew's will?

While King Charles III decided to remove his royal titles, Andrew has not objected.

In his Oct. 17 statement, Andrew said he agrees with the king's decision.

"We feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me," he said.

Why were his royal titles removed?

The removal of Andrew's royal titles preceded backlash over his past friendship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as well as sexual abuse allegations made against the royal by Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide on April 25.

Giuffre's alleged experiences with Andrew resurfaced this month with the release of her posthumous memoir "Nobody's Girl" on Oct. 21.

The former Duke of York stepped back from his public duties in 2019 but it wasn't until this month when he announced he would no longer use his royal titles.

What did Giuffre accuse the former prince of?

In 2015, Giuffre publicly alleged that Epstein trafficked her to Andrew when she was a teenager.

The Victims Refuse Silence founder said she first met Andrew in 2001, when he was 41 and she was 17.

In her memoir, she recounted convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell introducing Andrew as her old friend and says she, Epstein, Maxwell and Andrew went to a restaurant and a London nightclub.

Andrew has repeatedly denied her claims and said he has no memory of ever meeting Giuffre.

Contributing: Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prince Andrew stripped of titles, pushed out of royal home, palace confirms

Reporting by Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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