New Delhi, Oct 31 : In one of the harshest decisions made in the history of modern monarchy against a family member, Britain's King Charles has stripped his younger brother Andrew of his title of prince and forced him out of his Windsor home over links to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Now, the maverick former prince will move to a private accommodation on the Sandringham estate in eastern England.

According to a statement put out by Buckingham Palace a formal notice had been served on Andrew to surrender the lease of his Royal Lodge mansion on the Windsor Estate, west of London.

The move is being seen as a bid by the British royals led by the ailing King to distance themselves from Charles' younger brother Andrew over the repeated infractions and embarrassments he has caused to the family.

The second son of the late Queen Elizabeth, the 65-year-old has come under mounting pressure over his irresponsible behaviour and his ties to the late sex offender Epstein. Earlier in October he was forced to stop using his title of Duke of York.

King Charles, in a drastic move has now taken firm action against Andrew by stripping him of all his titles, leaving him to be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

The Buckingham Palace stated, '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."

Andrew who once served as a naval officer during the Falklands War with Argentina in the early 1980s, was forced to step down from a roving UK trade ambassador role in 2011, before quitting all royal duties in 2019. He was then stripped of his military links and royal patronages in 2022 amid allegations of sexual misconduct that he has always denied.

/IANS