Prince Andrew’s Resignation From Regal Duties Prompted Comparisons to Prince Harry

Recently, all the commotion surrounding the British royal family has centered on the medical trials that King Charles III and Princess Kate Middleton are enduring due to illnesses. Their private conflicts have compelled other royals to increase their public responsibilities. However, this is not the case with Prince Andrew, the favored son of Queen Elizabeth II, who withdrew from royal affairs some years ago due to his involvement in the shady affairs of his former associate, the convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

As reported by The Mirror, he was accused of having sexual relations with Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she had been trafficked when she was just a teen by convicted pedophile and friend of Andrew's, Epstein, and transferred between his associates for sexual purposes. January marked the irreparable shattering of his once-glimmering regal existence when a Manhattan federal magistrate ruled that a civil case involving allegations of sexual abuse could proceed. The response from Buckingham Palace was resolute and immediate. The prince's 95-year-old mother revoked his military titles and regal patronages the following day. The prince was abstained from employing the honorific HRH, 'His Royal Highness,' which previously served as an indication of his seniority within the royal lineage. Prince Andrew had been 'virtually exiled,' as stated in The Sun, a prominent British tabloid.

The Duke of York was quickly compared to Prince Harry, who abdicated his royal responsibilities in 2020. Many royal commentators criticized the departure of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from the Royal Family. Royal commentator Sarah Vine touted the two men as 'spares', after the Prince Andrew controversy and the January 2023 publication of Prince Harry's memoir. She revealed to The Daily Mail, "However the King deals with Prince Andrew, he'll always be Prince Andrew: entitled, arrogant, entirely lacking in self-knowledge. In fact, not unlike Prince Harry. Two spares with a talent for driving everyone else even more spare."

Furthermore, constitutional scholar Iain MacMarthanne stated to The Express: "Prince Andrew finds himself in a position without precedent. Although parallels can be drawn with the recent outcome of the Sussex withdrawal both cases are hardly comparable." He noted that unlike Andrew, Meghan and Harry voluntarily abdicated their regal duties. Andrew, on the other hand, was unaffected. As per ET, Andrew released a statement at the time, "It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organizations and charities that I am proud to support."

Rarely does a member of the royal family formally resign from his or her responsibilities. The most prominent instance involved Edward VIII, the uncle of Queen Elizabeth, who abdicated the throne while monarch and reigning to be with the woman he loved, a divorcee, which was not permitted at the time. His abdication resulted in the tenure of King George VI, which established the succession for Queen Elizabeth and her descendants.