Prince Andrew faces fresh humiliation tonight as councillors in York decide whether
or not to strip him of yet another honorary title in the wake of his settled sex abuse
case.
Council bosses in the northern England city will gather at 6pm to debate revoking the
prince’s Freedom of the City honour, awarded to him in 1987
The decision would not automatically strip the Queen’s youngest son of his ‘Duke of
York’ title, however councillors last month suggested they would call on Buckingham
Palace and the government to have it removed.
It follows a slew of authorities, institutions, schools and even golf clubs, which have
all sought to distance themselves from the disgraced duke since he settled his civil
case with Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking victim Virginia Roberts.
In the wake of the case, which was settled in February, the 62-year-old was also
stripped of his military roles and royal patronages and was told he would no longer
be known as ‘His Royal Highness’.
The meeting in York had been scheduled to take place virtually last month but the
plug was pulled just two hours before it was due to start following objections from
Labour councillors.
The decision to strip the Duke of his Freeman status was due to take just 45 minutes.
It was then expected that there would be an agreement to call on Buckingham Palace
and the government to remove the Duke of York title.
Read Also:Prince Harry launches legal action against the UK Govt
York City Council was set to consider the motion:
‘The Council resolves that, pursuant to Section 249 of the Local Government Act
1972, the City of York Council withdraws the Honorary Freeman of the City status
from the Duke of York which was conferred upon him in 1987.’
The decision to cancel the meeting caused fury among councillors, but York Council’s
Lib Dem Group said the vote would go ahead on the same motion in April.
The spokesman said: ‘The votes taken remotely would have been seen as
recommendations and would have had to go to the Chief Operating Officer to be
confirmed as decisions.
‘Virtual meetings took place during Covid when the COO agreed with all the
recommendations. It is purely because the agenda item on this meeting was very,
very political.
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