Andrew Mountbatten Windsor could be set for another change to his name less than two weeks after the King stripped him of all of his titles, styles and honours. When Buckingham Palace shared the statement from His Majesty on 30 October, it announced that the former Duke of York would be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor – with no hyphen in his name.
Now, according to The Times, the palace is said to be considering introducing a hyphen in accordance with his late mother’s Queen Elizabeth II’s wishes, so that it would read Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
After the late Queen’s accession in 1952, she decided with her husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh, that they would like their own direct descendants to be distinguished from the rest of the royal family, without changing the name of the Royal House.
During a Privy Council Declaration in 1960, Her Late Majesty said: “Whereas on the 9th day of April 1952, I did declare in Council My Will and Pleasure that I and my children shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that my descendants, other than female descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name of Windsor.
“And whereas I have given further consideration to the position of those of My descendants who will enjoy neither the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness, nor the titular dignity of Prince and for whom therefore a surname will be necessary: And whereas I have concluded that the Declaration made by me on the 9th day of April 1952, should be varied in its application to such persons:
“Now therefore I declare My Will and Pleasure that, while I and my children shall continue to be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, my descendants other than descendants enjoying the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness and the titular dignity of Prince or Princess and female descendants who marry and their descendants shall bear the name of Mountbatten-Windsor.”
© Getty ImagesWhile Andrew is still listed as the Duke of York on the line of succession on the royal family’s website, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh’s daughter uses the hyphen in her name – The Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor. Similarly, following the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son in May 2019, his full name was registered as Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
Loss of titles, styles and honours
Andrew was stripped of his prince title, dukedom and honours over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and allegations he sexually abused Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein. The former Prince vehemently denies all allegations.
© Karwai Tang/WireImageFollowing the removal of his titles, he is set to move from Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park in the new year to the King’s private Sandringham estate. It comes after it emerged that Andrew had only paid “peppercorn” rent on the 30-room mansion. While his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will no longer use her courtesy title, Duchess of York, the former couple’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, retain their royal titles and HRH styles.
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