Prince Andrew forces Queen to defend Crown ‘at all costs’

LONDON: Long described as her favourite son, Prince Andrew gave his mother Queen Elizabeth II little choice but to inflict the humiliation of stripping him of his honorary military titles as his US civil trial for sexual assault looms.

The decision, announced by Buckingham Palace on Thursday in a terse statement, dominated UK newspapers Friday, with many seeing it as a sign of the 95-year-old Queen’s desire to "distance herself" from her son. "It’s survival of the royal institution at all costs -- and it always will be," wrote the Daily Mail. "It’s probably over for him" now he has lost his royal patronages and will no longer use the title "His Royal Highness", said royal historian Bob Morris.