Prince Andrew wants to have a low profile after being stripped of his HRH title, military appointments, and royal patronages. He already deleted his Twitter account and made his Instagram private.
Prince Andrew Allegedly Leaving Social Media After Being Stripped Of HRH Title
The Duke of York suffered a huge blow last week when the Queen decided to strip him of his military affiliations, royal patronages and HRH title. Following the decision, Prince Andrew is slowly leaving the social media platform.
His Twitter account @thedukeofyork is already deleted. Those who visited his page were greeted with "this account doesn't exist — try searching another," Daily Mail reported.
Prince Andrew's Facebook and Instagram accounts with handle @hrhthedukeofyork are still up. However, he kept his Instagram account private as of this writing.
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Even if Prince Andrew still has social media presence, an unnamed source told Daily Mail that he plans to leave the other social media platforms too. However, some were reportedly taking longer to filter.
"The changes have been made to reflect the recent statement from Buckingham Palace regarding The Duke of York,'" the source said.
According to The Telegraph (via MSN), it was the palace that decided to delete his Twitter account to reflect this "private citizen" status.
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What Happened To Prince Andrew?
The Duke of York was embroiled in a scandal due to his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Virginia Giuffre sued him for sexual assault. She claimed that she was forced to have sex with the royal prince three times in 2001 when she was 17 years old.
Prince Andrew has since denied the allegations. He attempted to convince the judge to dismiss the case, but it was denied. The palace received an intense backlash due to Prince Andrew's issue.
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Many urged the Queen and the palace to make a statement about the issue. Last Thursday, Buckingham Palace finally addressed the matter.
"With The Queen's approval and agreement, The Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen," the statement read. "The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen."
Prince Andrew stepped down from his royal duties in 2019. The last post on his official Facebook account reflected this announcement.
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"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 organisation and charities that I am proud to support," he wrote.
"Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission," the duke added. "I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein. His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure. I can only hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives. Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required."
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