King Charles Seemingly Stripped Andrew's Titles In A Desperate Attempt To Save His Reputation

King Charles III, who is rumored to be locked in a power struggle with Prince William, has made his biggest move since becoming king. He did this by stripping his brother, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, who has racked up quite the scandals that may always haunt him, of all of his royal titles in November 2025. While the gesture may have been a much-needed step to uphold the integrity of the British royal family and show they're moving with the times — which was also reflected in the king's unveiling of the first-ever memorial for LGBTQ+ veterans in the U.K. — many believe it was simply the king's desperate attempt to save his reputation. 

The public believes the king only stripped his brother's titles out of a sense of urgency after a run-in with a protester outside of Lichfield Cathedral in October 2025. In a clip (via CNN), a protester can be heard questioning Charles about his brother's ties to Jeffrey Epstein. This viral clip underscored just how deeply Andrew's past casts a shadow over the monarchy's image. Meanwhile, many U.K. politicians have also raised concerns and questions about the source of Andrew's finances and how he has been able to afford such a lavish lifestyle. 

While the king may have made this decision because he truly believed it was the right thing to do, many believe it was simply damage control to save face. Whichever it was, at the end of the day, the move was perhaps one of the most defining moments of King Charles III's reign to date — for better or worse. 

For many royal fans and observers, it seems more and more likely that King Charles III wanted to clean up his brother's mess in preparation for Prince William, who hasn't been the same since his grandmother's death, to eventually ascend the throne. When the official statement by Buckingham Palace was released in regards to stripping Andrew Mountbatten Windsor of the rest of his royal titles, many online discussions immediately guessed this was Charles' way of containing the fallout for the sake of his son. 

On a Reddit post about the announcement shared to the r/news subreddit, users were quick to point out that the decision was clearly made to benefit William at the end of the day. The most upvoted comment with more than 14,000 upvotes wrote, "Charles won't be around much longer. He's cleaning house rather than leaving this to his son." In the past, there have also been multiple reports suggesting that William has never been particularly fond of his uncle, which led others on the Reddit discussion to speculate that the king was likely just trying to ease tensions and establish stricter boundaries within the family. 

The royal family and their staff have made swift moves to formalize the shift. As of November 2025, Andrew's name is nowhere to be seen on the official royal website, suggesting this isn't some temporary distancing for damage control, but more of a permanent acknowledgement that Andrew has lost his place in the royal family.