UK welcomes king's move to strip Andrew of royal titles

King Charles III's historic decision to strip his brother Andrew of his royal titles won widespread backing in Britain Friday, but failed to silence calls for further action and greater oversight of the monarchy.

The king's move to axe Andrew's title of prince -- the first such action since 1919 -- is the latest humiliation for the scandal-plagued royal over his links to convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Charles also announced Thursday he was ousting his younger brother from his longtime home on Windsor Castle's sprawling grounds, after renewed accusations from one of Epstein's main accusers, Virginia Giuffre.

The posthumous publication of her memoir last week, reiterating in shocking detail allegations she was trafficked to have sex with Andrew three times, including twice when she was 17, sparked renewed public outcry.

"It's a long time coming," retired teacher Pam Williams, an American living in Britain since 1972, told AFP outside Buckingham Palace, referring to Charles's decision.

"Maybe he should have done it a long time ago. But well done for doing it now."

"Finally!" headlined the Daily Mirror, while The Sun went with "The Andrew formerly known as Prince".

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman said Friday the government "fully support the decision taken". It is understood that the Palace consulted Downing Street beforehand.

"I think it's drawn a line under a lot of the concerns," Andrew Lownie, the former prince's biographer, told AFP. "I think the king has done probably as much as he could do."

- 'Not enough' -

Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen, took her own life in April, aged 41.

Her US-based brother Sky Roberts hailed the decision, but told the BBC: "It's not enough."

"I commend the king... but we need to take it one more step further: he needs to be behind bars," he said of Andrew.

Similar calls have been growing, with anti-monarchy pressure group Republic revealing Thursday it has instructed lawyers to explore if there is "sufficient evidence" to pursue a private prosecution.

London's Metropolitan Police have previously probed Giuffre's claims, but said in 2021 they were taking no further action.

"I think there's now renewed vigour for them to look at this properly," Lownie said.

Andrew, 65 -- the second son of the late queen Elizabeth II -- has repeatedly denied the allegations.

But he agreed to pay Giuffre millions of dollars in 2022 to end her civil sexual assault case against him.

Royal commentator Ed Owens said the monarchy was facing its "third most severe crisis" in modern times, after the botched response to Princess Diana's 1997 death and the 1936 abdication of Edward VIII.

"This is a genuinely historic moment," he told AFP.

"Charles has been out of other options for some time," Owens added.

The king had faced mounting pressure to act after renewed and fresh allegations prompted MPs to demand greater parliamentary scrutiny of some royal matters.

- 'Snowball' effect -

In particular, revelations that Andrew had effectively paid no rent on his 30-room royal mansion on the Windsor estate as part of a 2003 lease deal have sparked new criticism.

A landmark visit by Charles to the Vatican last week was tarnished by the scandal, and he was heckled Monday during one public appearance by a man shouting: "How long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?"

"What we've seen... is a crisis involving one individual snowball into a much bigger crisis about a lack of transparency on the part of the British royal family," Owens said.

For Lownie, Thursday's move could be a way "to avoid any proper scrutiny of the rest of the royal family and their finances".

The king's younger brother will now simply be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

However, he remains -- for now -- eighth in line to the throne.

Andrew will move shortly to a lodge on the king's private Sandringham estate, in eastern England. This will be privately funded by Charles.

However, the move could take weeks or even months to happen.

Broadcaster and historian Jonathan Dimbleby, a friend of the king, said Charles "will be feeling a measure of relief... and hope that for him and for the monarchy, it will now go away.

"Although it won't, of course, for Andrew."