Prince Andrew is set to lose his final military honour, marking the last remaining link to his former life as a senior royal and serviceman.
Defence Secretary John Healey has confirmed that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor will be stripped of his honorary rank of Vice-Admiral, a title awarded to him on his 55th birthday in 2015. Healey said the Ministry of Defence was “working to remove” the rank, a move that follows the King’s decision to formally end his brother’s public life as a royal.
The announcement comes just days after King Charles stripped Andrew of his Duke of York title, princely status, and the style of His Royal Highness, drawing a definitive line under his role in the monarchy. Ministry of Defence sources said they expected the process of removing the Vice-Admiral rank to be completed “in short order.”
The decision closes a turbulent chapter in Andrew’s life, one that began with a distinguished military career and ended amid controversy and scandal.
Andrew’s connection to the Armed Forces began in 1979 when he joined the Royal Navy as an officer cadet at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. He went on to serve as a helicopter pilot during the Falklands War in 1982, completing a 22-year naval career before retiring with the rank of Commander in 2001.
In the years that followed, he received several honorary promotions, including to Vice-Admiral, reflecting his long-standing association with Britain’s military.
However, that relationship began to unravel in 2022 when Andrew handed back his honorary military appointments under public and institutional pressure. Those titles included:
- Colonel of the Grenadier Guards
- Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Lancers
- Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Irish Regiment
- Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm
- Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Lossiemouth
- As well as several honorary Canadian and New Zealand regimental posts
At the time, their removal was seen as a clear indication that Andrew’s public role was no longer tenable following his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his withdrawal from royal duties in 2019.
By removing his final honorary title, the King has now brought a symbolic and constitutional end to Andrew’s military and royal life, underscoring his determination to protect the integrity of the monarchy.
Andrew will now be known as Andrew Windsor Mountbatten. He has also been instructed to vacate Royal Lodge, the 30-bedroom residence on the Windsor Estate where he has lived with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson for more than two decades.
