Disgraced Prince Andrew Suffers Another Blow After Being Replaced by Queen Camilla In King's Royal Shake-Up
One of the Prince’s most coveted titles has been handed over to his sister-in-law.
After Prince Andrew's involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, including allegations that he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre, were unveiled, his life dramatically changed. Forced to step down from duties as a working member of the Royal Family, the disgraced Prince lost a lot of Royal perks (for example, he can't attend certain events, wear his military uniform to those he can, and one of the biggest, he has to pay his own way) in addition to losing Royal patronages and titles.
Over the past year, he has continued to feel the wrath of his actions, watching other people take over his honors. This week, it was revealed that the 62-year-old suffered another major blow: The Queen Consort has taken over one of his most coveted titles.
For many years the Duke of York has been known as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. However, this week, it was revealed that his brother's wife, Queen Camilla, was taking over the duty. Andrew lost the role in January when he was stripped of all his military titles and patronages.
Per The Telegraph, Andrew was quite fond of the title, considered the most senior of the five Foot Guards regimental colonelcies. "The colonelcy was his most coveted title and the loss was keenly felt," they write, adding that he lobbied his mother prior to her death to be reinstated. However, when King Charles took over, Buckingham Palace announced they were reshuffling regimental colonelcies.
And, the most recent shake-up is that the King has appointed his wife as the second-ever female Colonel in the Grenadier Guards' 366-year history. The only other one? The late Queen herself. When she was Princess Elizabeth, she held the title from 1942 until 1952, prior to becoming Queen.
Initially, when Andrew handed back the title, the Queen temporarily took it back over. It was thought that perhaps the Princess of Wales would be the permanent replacement. However, Kate was given the title of Colonel of the Irish Guards, previously held by her husband. William takes over Colonelcy of the Welsh Guards from his father.
The existing colonelcies of the other regiments within the Household Division will remain the same. The King will remain Colonel-in-Chief of all regiments.
The Colonel-in-Chief of a regiment in the United Kingdom is a ceremonial position that is typically held by a member of the royal family. The Colonel-in-Chief serves as a figurehead and patron of the regiment and is expected to support and promote the morale, traditions, and welfare of the regiment.
