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Mountbatten Windsor: Exploring the origins of Prince Andrew's new name. How Sarah Ferguson is affected
King Charles III has stripped his disgraced brother Prince Andrew of his remaining titles and evicted him from his royal residence
King Charles III has stripped his disgraced brother Prince Andrew of his remaining titles and evicted him from his royal residence over the 65-year-old's relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Thursday. After the king's move, the former Duke of York will be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and not as a prince. He will also have to vacate his Royal Lodge mansion near Windsor Castle.
This comes after Andrew surrendered his use of the title Duke of York earlier this month amid renewed sexual abuse allegations by one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him. Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse," the Buckingham Palace said.
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Giuffre's brother reacted to the announcement. The Epstein victim died by suicide in April at the age of 41.
“Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family, brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage,” her brother Skye Roberts said in a statement to the BBC.
Andrew, 65, has long denied Giuffre’s claims, but stepped down from royal duties after a disastrous November 2019 BBC interview.
Where does Andrew's new name, Mountbatten Windsor, come from?
Before the First World War, Britain’s royal family bore a distinctly German name - the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, inherited from Prince Albert, the German-born husband of Queen Victoria. Their eldest son, King Edward VII, continued the name upon his accession.
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But in 1917, amid a wave of anti-German sentiment, King Edward’s son George V made a decisive change. He replaced the German dynasty name with one rooted in British identity - Windsor, inspired by Windsor Castle. The shift marked a symbolic break from Germany and a reaffirmation of loyalty to Britain during wartime.
When Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne in 1952, she officially confirmed Windsor as the royal family’s name. However, a few years later, both she and Prince Philip wished for their direct descendants to bear a surname that reflected both their lineages.
In 1960, a declaration by the Privy Council resolved the matter: the Queen’s descendants, except those titled prince or princess and styled as royal highness, would use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. The name combined Philip’s family name, Mountbatten - an Anglicised form of Battenberg from his mother’s side - with the established royal house name.
How Sarah Ferguson is affected
Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will also move out of the Royal Lodge. She will have to take care of her own living arrangements. Andrew’s children will retain their titles of Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
