What Can Happen To Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor When William Is King?

This article mentions sexual abuse allegations.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor used to be a prince. Emphasis on "used to be." He has his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to thank for that. There have been big rumors about former-Prince Andrew we couldn't ignore, most of them relating to his friendship with Epstein, and the allegations from victim Virginia Giuffre, who claimed Andrew had raped her. The ex-prince denied the allegations and still does, but it's turned into one of the royal family's biggest PR disasters that needed to be handled. So that's what King Charles III did when he initiated the process to strip his younger brother from his royal titles completely. It was a historic move. This is the first time in 100 years a British royal has been stripped of a title.

Andrew's final fall from grace came shortly after Giuffre's posthumous memoir hit shelves, putting the royal firmly back in the spotlight. The optics had not been good for a while, with the monarchy's popularity reaching an all-time low in 2024. Andrew's scandals didn't do anything to help the firm's public standing. Stripping him of his prince title has won the king some favor, at least in the U.S., where some lawmakers commended him for doing the right thing. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also voiced his approval. "We fully support the decision taken yesterday by the palace," his spokesperson said, per Town & Country.

The bigger question now is what might happen to Andrew when Prince William becomes king. The disgraced royal is currently living on his brother's dime, but reports seem to indicate that Andrew is not guaranteed the same support from William, who reportedly isn't his uncle's biggest fan. If anything, Andrew might find himself completely exiled once William takes the throne.

When Prince William becomes king, he will have the power to reinstate Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's royal titles, should he so wish. But chances of this happening are zero. According to royal biographer Andrew Lownie, there is no love lost between William and Andrew. In his book, "Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York," he claimed that Andrew had once made a rude remark about William's wife, Princess Catherine, and the heir to the throne has not forgotten it since. A source told Lownie, "He [William] also loathes Sarah, Andrew's ex-wife, and can't wait for the day when his father throws them both out."

Aside from assuming that the apparent bad blood between William and Andrew will ensure the future king doesn't take pity on his uncle, there's also the fact that restoring Andrew's titles will be a very bad look, given the reasons for which they were revoked in the first place. The major scandals that will always haunt Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson will simply be drudged up again should William go this route. It will also make him appear insensitive to Jeffrey Epstein's survivors. The optics will be very bad for the monarchy, so we can safely say that there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Andrew will ever get his titles back when William ascends the throne.

"Prince William is firmly opposed to any public rehabilitation with no foreseeable path back," royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital (via the New York Post). "He wants Andrew to vanish from public view." British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard added, "He [William] will not entertain anyone toxic to the brand. Andrew will not be part of the streamlined monarchy."

King Charles III might have stripped his brother of all his royal titles, but there's one thing he hasn't done just yet — remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession. The royal remains eighth in line to the throne, but that can be changed, although admittedly it's a bit of a tricky process. It might be fair to say that William, once he becomes king, will try to tackle this problem.

In order to remove Andrew from the line of succession, William will have to get parliament on board, and not just the British parliament. All the Commonwealth Countries would need to weigh in on the matter. The collective parliaments have passed legislation pertaining to the royal family before, when they all agreed to the Perth agreements which allowed princesses to keep their spot in the line of succession even if their younger siblings were male. It is therefore a possibility that William could change the rules, so to speak, in order to completely remove Andrew from the royal lineage.

King Charles III has opted not to do so because he didn't deem it worthy of parliament's time. William might feel differently, especially since some members of parliament have publicly voiced support for Andrew to be removed from the line of succession. According to a report from The Guardian, William believes that, despite the removal of his royal titles, Andrew remains a "threat" to the monarchy.

Those hoping to catch a glimpse of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at royal events in the future are sadly out of luck. Chances that Prince William will allow Andrew to make any royal appearance whatsoever are practically zero. King Charles III has notably still allowed his brother to make the odd appearance alongside his family. The former prince attended the Easter Sunday service with the king and the rest of the royals in April 2025, for instance. But the king has kept his brother at arm's length. Andrew spent the 2024 Christmas holidays at Windsor instead of at Sandringham with his family. William will likely be even more relentless when it comes to ensuring his uncle stays out of the royal spotlight.

Buckingham Palace practically told The Times, albeit not in so many words, that the prince sees Andrew as radioactive and a problem he'll have to solve once he ascends the throne. Dealing with that problem will include the exclusion of the former prince from royal events since his presence will not only distract the public from whatever cause the royals are trying to champion, but it will also send the wrong message: that the royal family isn't taking the accusations from Epstein's survivors seriously.

William has indicated during an interview with actor Eugene Levy for his series, "The Reluctant Traveler," that he's going to shake things up when he becomes king. "Change is on my agenda. Change for good. I don't fear it," he told Levy. And if there's one thing William probably won't hesitate to change, it's the perception that the royal family still quietly supports Andrew despite the allegations against him.

There was plenty of drama surrounding King Charles III's coronation in May 2023, and Prince William will likely attempt to have none of it when he takes the throne. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor notably attended his brother's coronation, despite the fact that he was already a disgraced royal and no longer a working member of the family. Buckingham Palace has indicated to The Times that Andrew will not receive an invitation to Prince William's coronation when the time comes. While the snub will most certainly make headlines, it might be safe to say that Andrew's attendance will have far worse optics.

A former courtier told The Times that the royal family is finding itself in a situation it's never had to face before with the so-called Andrew problem. "We're definitely in uncharted territory for royal scandals," they surmised. The Prince of Wales, meanwhile, is said to be planning a more modern coronation. "He is really thinking, how do we make his coronation feel most relevant in the future? He is mindful of the fact that in 20 years' time, or whenever his time comes, how can the coronation be modern but also unifying to the nation and the Commonwealth? I think his coronation will look and feel quite different," a source close to William told The Times in 2023. Needless to say, Andrew's absence will fit William's vision better than his presence.

Forget simply cutting his uncle out of official royal events; all the signs are there that Prince William will be looking to sever ties with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor entirely when he becomes king. Buckingham Palace has indicated to The Times that, along with being banned from royal appearances and events, William also plans to exclude his uncle from private royal gatherings when he becomes king, which seems to indicate that William plans on cutting Andrew out of his life completely once he has the power and authority to do so.

"Prince William has been urging his father the King to do something about Andrew for years," royal expert and biographer Christopher Andersen told Us Weekly in October 2025. "The Epstein sex abuse scandal just won't go away — the royals are holding their breath, anxiously waiting for the other shoe to drop once all the files are released." 

Royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that William is determined to distance the monarchy from his uncle. "William's strong stance on 'the Andrew problem' is consistent, unwavering and his influence has been decisive in ensuring Andrew remains sidelined," Fordwich said. "Once king, no doubt, Prince William will ensure Andrew is completely excluded from royal life, as well as all public appearances."

King Charles III might have stripped his brother of all his royal titles, but Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is still in the king's pocket. Even after Queen Elizabeth II initially stripped Andrew of some of his military titles in 2022 after his disastrous BBC "Newsnight" interview, she continued to support her son financially with a £1 million ($1.3 million) annual allowance. Charles continued to pay his brother this same allowance when he first became king, but reports indicate that the king stopped this cash flow eventually. He hasn't cut off his brother entirely, however. The Guardian reported that Andrew will be the lucky recipient of a six-figure payout as he takes his royal leave, along with an annual wage. Charles will not be using taxpayer money to fund his brother, instead drawing from his own funds.

Given that Prince William isn't his uncle's biggest fan, it stands to reason that he might not feel particularly generous toward Andrew when he becomes king. "Prince William has long had a strained and distant relationship with Andrew," royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. "[He holds] a grudge against his disgraced uncle." One therefore cannot imagine that William will be happy to continue paying his uncle to do nothing. In fact, some of the prince's friends told The Royalist that the future king was the mastermind behind Andrew's eviction from Royal Lodge as well as the steps that were taken to remove his royal titles. Continuing to support Andrew from his private funds is Charles' choice, but given William's view of and relationship with his ostracized uncle, one cannot assume he'll make the same decision when the crown rests on his head.

Prince William reportedly went low to get Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson out of the Royal Lodge. Friends of the prince told The Royalist that William was tired of waiting for King Charles III to convince Andrew to move out of the 30-bedroom mansion on the Windsor Estate, so he stepped in to do it himself. "Charles has been trying and failing to get Andrew out of Royal Lodge for the past three years," the source alleged. "William did it in two weeks. William is king in all but name now."

Before it was announced that Andrew will indeed be moving out of his fancy home, media outlets speculated that William would find a way to evict his uncle one way or another once he became king. "If Charles doesn't, I guarantee you the first thing William does when he eventually becomes king is to get them [Andrew and Sarah Ferguson] evicted," a source told Andrew Lownie for his book, "Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York." Andrew should, perhaps, be thankful that his eviction occurred under Charles' watch. He might not have been so fortunate as to be offered residence at the Sandringham estate otherwise. Whether he will be able to continue living there once William becomes king is debatable, however.

"Some constant ideas [William has] include sending Andrew to a farm in the north of England, or more realistically, a substantial house in the Belgravia district of London," royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital. Then there are the reports that William wasn't afraid to threaten Andrew to get him to move, allegedly telling his uncle that he'll remove his daughters, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice's titles if he doesn't budge.

Once Prince William becomes king, the jig will be up for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Shedding some more light on William's relationship with his controversial uncle, royal author Andrew Lownie told Fox News (via Cosmopolitan) that he believes Andrew might have grown jealous of William and Princess Catherine's popularity over the years as his own dwindled. "Andrew gets jealous of people," Lownie asserted, adding that the ostracized royal always believed he was more deserving of the crown than King Charles III. "I do know that when William comes to the throne, Andrew will be dust," Lownie said.

British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital that William is no fool — he knows that Andrew's continued association with the royal family will be a bad look and that the majority of the public doesn't approve of his uncle. "He views him as a complete liability with his series of scandals, both past and present, shoveling shame on the family," Chard explained. Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams concurred, "[Andrew's] best future is well behind him."

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).