Disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor looks set to be stripped of final honour as ‘matter of urgency’

Disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor looks set to be stripped of final honour as ‘matter of urgency’ The City of London Corporation says it has now approved a process to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s honour of being a Freeman of the City of London Disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor looks set to be stripped of one of his final honours “as a matter of urgency”. The City of London Corporation (CLC) has said it has finally approved a process to remove the Freedom of the City honour from recipients. Despite having all of his royal titles stripped by the King back in October in the wake of the release of the Epstein files, the shamed former Duke of York was able to retain the Freedom of the City of London honour. He received it in 2012 “by virtue of patrimony” as his late father, Prince Philip, was made a Freeman of London, which allows his children to inherit the status too. The CLC, which oversees the Square Mile, previously believed it could not revoke the honour and wrote to the ex-prince asking him to surrender it voluntarily. He failed to respond to the request, but the CLC said today its court of common council, the organisation’s main decision-making body, had approved a process enabling the honour to be removed from individuals. Elected members approved an act of common council, giving the court the power to remove a freedom. The decision followed a legal review, which concluded that there had been no effective lawful way to do so. Under the new process, each case would be considered on its individual circumstances and in accordance with the law, CLC said, with the person concerned informed and given opportunities to make written representations before a final decision is made. The new process will now begin for the disgraced former prince Andrew, after the corporation instructed officers to pursue steps to lawfully remove the honour. It is understood the proposal to strip Andrew of the honour will return to the court of common council for a decision in December. CLC’s policy chairman, Chris Hayward, said: “Today, we have approved a lawful and effective process for considering whether the Freedom of the City of London should be removed from an individual. “This ensures that future decisions are taken fairly, transparently, and in accordance with the law, with appropriate safeguards in place for all parties involved. “The process will now be followed as a matter of urgency to ensure that a decision is made in relation to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s Freedom.” Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s failure to respond to the Corporation’s request saw a motion of censure – a formal expression of disapproval – passed against Mr Mountbatten-Windsor in May. The City Corporation’s Court of Common Council said it considered his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to be “wholly unacceptable and inconsistent” with the status and obligations of a Freeman of the City of London. In its motion of censure, the court said there was “profound disappointment” the former prince had “not surrendered his Freedom despite being asked to do so”. The City Corporation said its thoughts “remain firmly with the victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and all victims of sexual abuse and exploitation”. Having the honour of the Freedom of the City of London is largely a ceremonial role - and is awarded to people nominated by Corporation councillors. The freedom is believed to have started in 1237 and enabled recipients to carry out their trade. Those who have received the honour in recent years are astronaut Major Tim Peake and comedian Sir Lenny Henry. The ancient honour allows recipients to walk sheep over London Bridge. All of Andrew’s siblings – including the King – also have Freedom of the City of London. Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on his 66th birthday in February, at his temporary residence of Wood Farm on the King's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, on suspicion of misconduct in public office following allegations he shared sensitive information with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy. He was held for 11 hours before being released under investigation by Thames Valley Police. It emerged in May that detectives investigating Andrew will consider allegations of sexual misconduct in their inquiry into potential misconduct in public office. He has not been charged and has denied all wrongdoing. In 2022, he was stripped of the freedom of York following revelations about his relationship with Epstein. The government is understood to be considering new legislation to boot him out of the line of succession, so he loses his place as eighth in line to the throne.