Former prince Andrew to lose final military title

The Andrew formerly known as Prince is set to lose his final military title, a UK government minister has confirmed.

Defence Secretary John Healey told the BBC that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor would be stripped of his honorary vice admiralty, the last military title the former prince possessed.

"The government's been guided by the decisions and judgments the King's made. In Defence, it's exactly the same," Healey said.

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"Guided again by the King, we are working now to remove that last remaining title of vice admiral that he has."

Mountbatten Windsor, who was awarded the honorary vice admiral title in 2015, gave up his other military titles in 2022.

He served in the Royal Navy for more than 20 years, and saw action in the 1982 Falklands War as a helicopter pilot.

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The former prince won a number of medals during his service, which will not be affected by the removal of his final honorary title.

Healey told the BBC that the decision was a welcome one.

"It's a huge commitment that people in uniform make - they make it to the King, and they're massively proud to have the royals associated with their regiment or their squadron," he said.

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"And so this is a move that's right, it's a move that the king has indicated we should take, and we're working on that at the moment."

Mountbatten Windsor was last week stripped of the titles of Prince and Duke of York and effectively exiled from the royal family and his royal residence.

The king's decision came following more revelations about Mountbatten Windsor's relationship with disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including that he had maintained contact with Epstein for longer than previously disclosed.

Mountbatten Windsor has also been accused of sexual assault by the now-dead Virginia Giuffre, whose posthumous memoir was released recently.

He has denied all wrongdoing.

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