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His ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who was also ensnared in the Epstein scandal, had shared Royal Lodge with him. Ferguson, who is no longer known as the Duchess of York, will also have to find a new place to live. The couple's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, however, will retain their titles along with HRH, which stands for her royal highness, because they are the granddaughters of a sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II. King Charles III is stepping in with his private wealth to financially support his brother, whose money woes have been at the heart of previous scandals over shady business deals and questionable relationships. Mountbatten Windsor had ceased being a working member of the royal family since he was suspended from duties following a disastrous 2019 interview in which he tried to defend his relationship with Epstein. He has no known source of income beyond a modest pension from his 22-year Royal Navy career. George Gross, a royal expert at King’s College London, said the financial arrangement makes sense. It shields the king from criticism that his brother is drawing from public coffers while showing that he's not abandoning him. “If Andrew is unable to be a working royal, and presumably is unemployable, then there has to be a little bit of thought as to what on earth is done with him for the remainder of his life,” Gross said. “It’s clearly important that he’s provided for in some ways, because otherwise he becomes a potential pawn for anybody with negative or bad intentions.” Watch moreEpstein and Prince Andrew: The villains in Giuffre's sex abuse memoir It was not clear what other repercussions the former royal could face from an issue that has until now been handled mostly by the House of Windsor. He previously settled a US sexual abuse lawsuit for millions of dollars with Giuffre, who died by suicide in April at the age of 41. Giuffre said she was 17 when she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with Andrew in London. Andrew has repeatedly denied having sex with Giuffre or committing any crimes. A widely shared photograph shows the two of them together along with Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving time for sex trafficking. “Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage,” Giuffre’s family said in a statement. Her brother Sky Roberts praised the king for “setting a precedent to the rest of the world to say, ‘I do stand with survivors. I am going to hold even my brother to account'.” “But it’s still ... it’s not enough in the sense that he’s still walking around a free man," Roberts told Sky News. Despite losing his nobility, the former prince remains eighth in line to the throne. Removing him from the line of succession would require action from Parliament and that is unlikely at this point. Whether there's an appetite to take up the succession issue later – or if the Epstein saga continues to bring damaging headlines – remains to be seen. Lawmakers could have removed Andrew's titles, but the king took action in part to spare the government from wasting time on the matter. (FRANCE 24 with AP)
