King Charles III's scandal-hit brother Andrew to lose Prince title, move out of Royal Lodge
London (PTI): Andrew, the younger brother of Britain’s King Charles III, is to lose his title of Prince and move out of the Royal Lodge on the Windsor Castle estate, Buckingham Palace has said in a statement.
The announcement on Thursday comes days after Andrew voluntarily relinquished the title of Duke of York and all other royal honours after a “discussion” with the monarch, amid “continued accusations” around his association with American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
However, the controversy refused to die down as British MPs took the unusual step of debating the matter of Andrew’s token rent for royal lodgings.
“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew,” reads the Buckingham Palace statement.
“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation,” it states.
The palace notes that the “censures” are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that Andrew continues to deny the allegations against him.
“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,” the statement concludes.
The scandal-hit 65-year-old had already stopped using the “His Royal Highness (HRH)” title, having stepped back as a working royal earlier.
Earlier this month, he announced that all his other titles will also become inactive, even as he continued to "vigorously" deny all accusations against him.
As a son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, he was expected to retain the title of “Prince” in accordance with Letters Patent issued in 1917 by King George V, which were updated by his mother in 2012.
“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 [Charles] and the royal family,” Prince Andrew said in a statement issued by Buckingham Palace on October 18.
“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.
“With His Majesty’s agreement, 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 at the time.
Andrew’s ex-wife and close friend, Sarah Ferguson, will also no longer use her title of the Duchess of York but the titles of their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Eugiene, remain unaffected.
The decision comes amid renewed pressure on Andrew over reports of his relationship with the convicted paedophile financier Epstein and also links with an alleged Chinese spy.
A memoir titled ‘Nobody’s Girl’ by Virginia Giuffre, who had sued the senior royal back in August 2021 over an alleged sexual assault and died in April, threw up further allegations when it was released posthumously recently.
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Prasidh, Kuldeep limit South Africa to 270 after De Kock's hundred
Visakhapatnam (PTI): India fought back gallantly through Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav after Quinton de Kock struck his 23rd hundred, keeping South Africa to a manageable 270 in the third and series-deciding final ODI, here Saturday.
India won the toss after judging the spin of the coin incorrectly 20 times in a row. They had little hesitation in inserting the Proteas into bat, a clear indication of dew factor dominating the thought.
After Arshdeep Singh sent back Ryan Rickelton early, De Kock (106, 89b, 8x4, 6x4) struck his seventh century against India and put on 113 runs off 124 balls with skipper Temba Bavuma (48, 67b) as the visitors moved to a healthy position.
De Kock was severe on Prasidh (4/66), who erred on length continuously in his first spell (2-0-27-0). The left-hander biffed the pacer for 6, 6, 4 in his second over to milk 18 runs.
The 32-year-old quickly pounced on anything that was short, and pacers Prasidh and Harshit offered him plenty of feed on his pet areas.
Bavuma was more sedate, and made runs through those typical dabs and jabs, occasionally unfurling a drive of elan.
De Kock moved to fifty in 42 balls, and never let the tempo down reaching his hundred in 79 balls.
India found temporary relief when Ravindra Jadeja induced a false slash from Bavuma to get caught by Virat Kohli at point.
The tourists got another move on through a 54-run partnership between De Kock and Matthew Breetzkle for the third wicket, and at 168 for two in 28 overs they were in a good position to press on.
But Breetzke's punishment of part-time spinner Tilak Varma forced a rethink in the Indian camp, as skipper KL Rahul brought back Prasidh for a second spell.
What a masterstroke it turned out to be! The Karnataka man broke the back of South Africa’s top and middle order in an exceptional second spell (4-0-11-3).
Breetzke was the first man to go, trapped plumb in front with a straight one and four balls later Aiden Markram uppishly chipped a fuller delivery to Kohli at short covers.
Prasidh soon castled De Kock, whose ugly cross-batted swipe failed to connect a full length delivery from the pacer.
All of a sudden, SA found themselves at a shaky 199 for five, losing three wickets in the space of three overs.
Once Prasidh was done away with the top and middle-order, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep (4/41) took over and mopped up the tail as SA fell short of even a par total on this track.
