By Eniola Amadu
The Scottish National Party (SNP), has urged the UK government to remove all royal titles held by Prince Andrew.
The party’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn submitted a parliamentary motion calling for ministers to strip the Duke of York of his dukedom with immediate effect.
This comes after the exposure of the prince’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
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This has placed Buckingham Palace under pressure to take tougher measures against him.
It was announced on Friday that Prince Andrew would relinquish all his titles, including Duke of York and Earl of Inverness which he was traditionally known for in Scotland.
He also relinquished his membership with the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in Britain — the Order of the Garter.
It is believed that the only lawful means of removing Prince Andrew’s remaining titles would be through an Act of Parliament.
SNP Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, expressed his frustrations, saying Westminster parties “remain stubbornly slow” in acting against the prince.
“Prince Andrew’s titles can only be removed by an act of parliament – therefore this SNP motion is a way to pile pressure on the UK Labour government to bring forward that legislation immediately,” he revealed.
He added that “The only real question is, what is Keir Starmer’s government waiting for? The public knows this is the right thing to do, and even more importantly the victims at the heart of the Epstein scandal know that it’s the right thing to do. It needs to be done without any further excuses and any further delay.”
In September, a similar submission was made by the SNP targeting the removal of the peerage of Lord Mandelson, who, after his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, became known and was dismissed.
In empathy with the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, he stated his desire for the government to back the SNP motion.
“I sincerely hope for the sake of all Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, that Keir Starmer’s government changes course, supports this SNP motion and brings forward legislation to remove Prince Andrew’s titles and Peter Mandelson’s peerage, immediately,” Flynn said.
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Prince Andrew ceased using the title His Royal Highness (HRH) in 2022 after facing a US civil lawsuit over sexual assault allegations made by Virginia Giuffre.
Although he has consistently denied the allegations, he settled the case without admitting liability.
