Royal insiders say discussions are underway to strip Prince Andrew of his Dukedom

Britain’s Prince Andrew might lose his title of Duke of York if he loses the sex abuse case brought on by Virginia Giuffre who claims he sexually assaulted her when she was 17.

According to The Sunday Times, insiders privy to the British royal family say discussions are underway to strip Prince Andrew of his title, which was awarded to him as the Queen’s favourite son; it was previously held by her father.

A source close to the royal household revealed that while it would be “difficult to persuade the Queen to remove the title of Duke of York, Andrew has disgraced that title.”

In addition, an insider was also quoted by The Sunday Times, saying, “If Prince Andrew loses the case, the question is what do you do with him? You can't make him resign like you would a normal person but he would be asked to put his dukedom into abeyance.”

However, a spokesman from the Buckingham Palace refused to comment on the same, saying, “This is speculation and the comments are without foundation. We would not comment on an ongoing legal matter.”

Apart from this, the royal family is reportedly also considering sending Andrew into an ‘internal exile’ as reported earlier.

Andrew is accused of having forced sexual relations with Ms Giuffre in 2001, and he also stepped down from public duties in 2019 following criticism over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.