King Charles III’s bold decision to strip his brother, Prince Andrew, of his royal titles and honors has sparked questions about whether Queen Elizabeth II would have ever taken such a step.
According to royal expert and author Christopher Andersen, the late monarch would never have supported such a move.
On October 30, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles had decided to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s “style, titles, and honors” following renewed scrutiny over his association with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The statement also revealed that Prince Andrew would be vacating his longtime residence, the Royal Lodge.
“This must have been a painful decision for the King — this is his brother, after all,” Andersen told Us Weekly. “Charles must know how much booting Andrew out of the royal family would have hurt his mother, the late Queen. I can’t imagine Elizabeth II would have ever gone this far — not ever.”
Andersen went on to explain that the late Queen had always been protective of her “favorite” son. “She did what she could to protect him,” he said, noting that her loyalty to Andrew lasted until the very end of her life.
The author also pointed out long-standing tension between King Charles, 76, and Prince Andrew, particularly over Andrew’s continued residence at the Royal Lodge. The Duke of York and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, have lived there rent-free for more than two decades under a lease allowing them to stay until 2078.
Prince Andrew’s public downfall began when Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, accused him of sexually abusing her when she was 17. She filed a lawsuit in 2021, which was later settled out of court.
Although Giuffre passed away in April this year, her posthumous memoir and leaked emails between Andrew and Epstein have reignited controversy around the disgraced royal.
While King Charles appears determined to protect the monarchy’s image, Andersen believes his mother’s approach would have been very different. “The late Queen was loyal to the very end,” he said. “Even when it came to Andrew.”
