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Queen Elizabeth II’s second son, King Charles III’s younger brother, was born Prince Andrew. But Buckingham Palace just announced that he’ll formally lose his “Prince” title and has been asked to vacate his official estate: Royal Lodge. While the move surprised many, some eagle-eyed journalists noticed Andrew quietly swapped out his royal license plates earlier this week.

King Charles III strips his brother’s titles

King Charles III’s unprecedented decision is in response to growing criticism of his brother’s association with Jeffrey Epstein and sexual assault allegations. In 2022, Queen Elizabeth removed Andrew’s honorary military affiliations and patronage of royal charities. He volunteered to stop using “His Royal Highness” as his style. Last month, he volunteered to stop using his “Duke of York” title. But King Charles’ latest announcement promises there will be “a formal process” to remove his style, titles, and other honors. His name is now simply Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

Buckingham Palace specifies, “These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”

Andrew already tossed his royal license plates

The Mirror media outlet recently conducted a records search for the AY03 DOY license plate the Duke of York kept on his Range Rover. The result: the plate “can no longer be found,” and the Duke of York plate is not linked to any vehicle on the road. Then journalists spotted Andrew in a brand new SUV with the more standard number plate KN74 EFK.

It’s not clear whether he voluntarily swapped out his plates a month after announcing he’d stop using his Duke of York title, or whether this was the first government step of the “formal process” to strip his titles.

Andrew’s extensive car collection has included a Bentley Flying Spur, multiple Range Rovers and Land Rovers, and an Aston Martin Volante convertible. He had multiple vehicles with variations of his Duke of York (DOY) plate. It is unclear where he will be living or what his new source of income will be. But if the brand new SUV purchase and license plate change are any indication, he won’t be leaving his cars at Royal Lodge.

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari is a MotorBiscuit Staff Writer who brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Henry covers Ford models daily, including the F-150. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. He’s an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts. Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont.