King Charles called on to strip Prince Andrew of last remaining royal honours
A new Express.co.uk poll has revealed that a staggering 79 percent of readers think that the Duke of York should be stripped of his Knight of the Garter honour.
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Prince Andrew was banned from joining members of the Royal Family at the annual Garter Day procession and ceremony in Windsor last week and Express.co.uk readers have called for the Duke of York to be stripped of his privileges, a new poll has revealed.
Andrew was given the honour of Knight of the Garter by his mother Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 but he has been absent from the Garter Day proceedings for two years.
As sovereign, King Charles has the power to appoint and remove members of the order. His membership is one of the few royal honours Andrew still holds after he was stripped of his military titles, royal patronages and HRH status when he stepped back from public life in 2019.
Russell Myers, the Daily Mirror’s royal editor has claimed that there is “no way” the King would eject his brother. He told The Royal Beat that the honour is “probably the only thing” left for Andrew, explaining: “It's an interesting situation for the King, how much does he want Andrew to be seen in public.”
He continued: “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 about whether Andrew would be ejected from the order, 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.”
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In response, Express.co.uk ran a poll from 11.15am on Monday, June 26 to 5.15pm on Tuesday, June 27, asking readers: “Should Prince Andrew be removed from the Order of the Garter?”
A total of 1,822 votes were received with almost four in five readers, 79 percent (1,442 people), answering “yes” he should be removed. Whereas 19 percent (355 people) said “no” and a further 25 people said they did not know.
In the comments left below the accompanying article, readers took part in a lively discussion on Andrew’s future in the prestigious order.
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Username bokatankryze agreed with Mr Myers, writing: “If his mother allowed him to keep this plus the mansion [Royal Lodge] he lives in, I doubt King Charles will remove anything from him. King Charles will just carry on the same as his mother did as not to rock the boat.”
Yet many readers argued that Andrew should be removed from the Order of the Garter, with username Conkker commenting: “Remove him from everything, end of.”
Likewise, username dacia said that the disgraced Prince should not retain the honour, writing: “He should be removed from everything.”
Since the foundation of the order in 1348, just forty people have been removed by the Sovereign.
