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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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
