King Charles has the power to remove Prince Andrew from the Order of the Garter a royal commentator has claimed. The King’s younger brother did not take part in the annual procession at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle earlier this week despite being a Knight of the Garter. Daily Mirror Royal Editor Russell Myers said removing Andrew from the order is “within the gift” of the King but he believes there is “no way” he would eject him from the order.
Speaking to The Royal Beat, Mr Myers said the honour is “probably the only thing” left for the disgraced Prince, who was forced to step down as a senior royal over his association with convicted peodophile Jeffrey Epstein.
“It’s an interesting situation for the King,” he said. “How much does he want Andrew to be seen in public.
“I suppose he just wants him to try and retire and not cause him any grief. He’ll just hope that Andrew kind of fades into the background.
“Andrew is still holding a wish to come back to royal life, but I can’t imagine that will happen.
Speaking on the possibility of him being removed from the Garter, Mr Myers added: “There have been removals from the Garter, it’s really totally within the gift of the King. And there’s no way Charles is going to do that to his brother”.
The Prince was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages and using the style of His Royal Highness in an official capacity following his disastrous interview with BBC Newsnight where he discusses his friendship with Epstein.
The programme came a few years after Virginia Giuffre accused him of sexually assaulting her three times in 2001 when she was 17-years-old.
Andrew repeatedly and vehemently denied the allegations before reaching an out-of-court settlement was reached with Ms Giuffre in February last year, and made no admission of guilt.
But Andrew’s public standings have plummeted ever since. His dire popularity and public image led to him being banned from taking part in the Order of the Garter ceremony for the second year in a row.
The traditional event sees King Charles and the Royal Family take part in the procession and service on the grounds of Windsor Castle to honour the Knights of the Garter.
The recipients are chosen personally by the Sovereign to honour those who have held public office, who have contributed in a particular way to national life or who have served the Sovereign personally.
To date a total of fourty people have been removed from the Order of the Garter in disgace in the 670 years since its foundation.
