Why William may still face the 'Andrew problem' on taking crown

The Prince of Wales, whom Buckingham Palace has said was “consulted” before Prince Andrew’s dramatic statement, must have felt some relief at his uncle agreeing to relinquish use of his titles and honours.

- By Caroline Davies

At some point William will become king. His uncle, 12 years younger than King Charles, may well be watching when he takes his coronation oath. The indications are, however, Andrew may be watching from afar.

Charles cannot have been unaware that the “Andrew problem” is something William would not relish in his in-tray when that time comes.

Last Friday’s announcement that Andrew’s dukedom, other titles and his Order of the Garter knighthood would be put in abeyance with immediate effect - extant but inactive, much as his HRH title has been since the Virginia Giuffre scandal broke six years ago - may be seen by some within Buckingham Palace as a solution.

Only an act of parliament can remove the dukedom entirely. King Charles is understood to have been of the opinion it would be a waste of parliament’s time to focus on Andrew’s titles, and putting those in abeyance was sufficient. The government has said it will be “guided” by the royal family on the matter.

But some MPs are pressing further. Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, is writing to ministers to back her bill giving the king or a parliamentary committee the power to formally remove Andrew’s titles.