King Charles considers banishing Prince Andrew from Order of the Garter.
The King is urgently and actively considering banishing Prince Andrew from the Order of the Garter, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.
Top-level discussions are this afternoon under way at Buckingham Palace after the latest embarrassing scandals involving the Duke of York.
It is even possible there could be an official announcement later today.
The Order of the Garter, founded by Edward III in 1348, is Britain's most senior order of chivalry.
It is an honour known to be highly prized by Andrew, and its removal would be a serious blow for him.
The monarch can strip the honour from members of the order, although it is understood that Charles would much prefer his brother to voluntarily relinquish the title.
The final straw for the King is understood to have been The Mail on Sunday's exclusive revelation last weekend that Andrew responded to the paper's original report about his alleged sexual encounter with Virginia Giuffre by emailing Jeffrey Epstein and saying 'we are in this together'.
Of course now the Duke claims never to have met Virginia and insists The Mail on Sunday's extraordinary photograph of him with his arm around the then-17-year-old's midriff was fake.
One of the last people to be removed from the Order of the Garter was Emperor Hirohito of Japan after his country joined the Second World War in 1941.
Another option could be to strip Andrew of his Duke of York title, but this would involve an Act of Parliament and considerable parliamentary time, so is much less likely.
Why Andrew should spare his brother the anguish and fall on his sword.
There have been many 'bad weeks' for the Duke of York in recent years.
But this one feels different from others.
For a start it has seen incontrovertible proof, thanks to a world exclusive in The Mail on Sunday, that Prince Andrew out-and-out lied when he claimed to have only met convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in December 2010 to break the news he could have nothing to do with him again.
Andrew told the BBC he felt meeting his friend face-to-face was the 'honourable' thing to do and he never had contact with him again.
Now we know that just 12 weeks later he secretly emailed the billionaire predator to reassure him, the day after a picture of them with alleged teenage sex victim Virginia Giuffre was first published, that 'we are in this together' and would have to 'rise above it'.
Sickeningly he concluded: 'Otherwise keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon.'
It was signed 'A, HRH The Duke of York, KG', the final letters of which I will return to.
So much of the saga of recent years concerning the late Queen's (allegedly favourite) son, Epstein and Mrs Giuffre - who tragically took her own life earlier this year but whose eviscerating beyond-the-grave memoir has also just been released - has focused on what amount to little more than claim and counter-claim.
The revelation of the email that he sent to the paedophile changes that.
Added to the latest unwelcome revelation that Andrew invited the senior Chinese official at the centre of the current Beijing spy case into Buckingham Palace for lunch in 2018 (one of too-many-to-mention scandals involving his shady business activities), it is fair to say that the situation has prompted crisis talks at Buckingham Palace.
My understanding is that 'all options are on the table' and that 'active consideration' is being given to everything from stripping him of his dukedom to finally kicking him out of the Order of the Garter, the country's most ancient order of chivalry that most senior members of the Royal Family belong to for their loyal service to the Crown. This is given in the gift of the King.
Andrew also remains a Counsellor of State, able to step in and act for the monarch should he become incapacitated.
In reality, the chances of this happening are slim, but it is still a position of authority he holds.
Indeed, Andrew still - unbelievably - remains listed on the website as a member of the Royal Family, albeit with a significantly smaller profile alongside that of fellow royal troublemakers, Harry and Meghan.
When serious allegations first began to seep out against the prince more than 15 years ago, the Royal Family and their advisors were initially abysmally slow to act.
In 2011 Andrew was forced to step down from his roving role as a trade and industry 'ambassador' - seen by many as little more than a fig leaf to enjoy foreign jaunts and line his own pockets - after years of scandals.
But it wasn't until January 2022 that Queen Elizabeth finally stripped him of his military titles and royal patronages and use of his HRH title following a judge's ruling that he must defend a civil sexual assault claim brought by Mrs Guiffre in the United States. He eventually settled out of court without any admission of liability.
Tags: Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince Louis, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Meghan, Lilibet
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