Prince Andrew must now face full a Met Police probe, a biographer of Virginia Giuffre has said, as the fallout from his Epstein links intensifies with yesterday's royal eviction and title stripping. King Charles III's decision to strip his brother of the Duke of York title, revoke his His Royal Highness style of address and evict him from Royal Lodge has removed a key shield of privilege, according to Nigel Cawthorne, author of Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palace (2021) and Virginia Giuffre: Epstein's Masseuse Who Took Down the Rich (2022).

Mr Cawthorne called for the Metropolitan Police to reopen its investigation into Ms Giuffre's 2015 sexual assault allegation against Andrew, urging officers to request FBI files on Epstein's trafficking network. Mr Cawthorne said: "Every response since 2011 from the now ex-prince to new revelations was marked by reluctance and being always too little too late. One wonders whether this will mean the scandal has come to an end. In truth, sadly questions remain.

"Both Epstein and Maxwell were charged with trafficking underage girls by the FBI. To whom were they trafficked? In the course of their investigation, the FBI issued a formal request under the mutual assistance treaty to interview the prince.

"Given the state of confusion about the prince's relations with Epstein, it seems paramount that the MET contact the FBI and ask for the fruits of its investigation in order to have all the facts before it in the case of Virginia Giuffre's 2015 complaint.

"Ostensibly without contact with the FBI, Giuffre's complaint was reviewed three times and closed by the MET, leaving an impregnable question hanging over the prince."

Buckingham Palace confirmed the actions on Thursday, announcing that Andrew, 65, must relinquish his titles and vacate the 30-room Grade II-listed Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, where he has lived since 2002.

The eviction is set to begin within weeks, with reports suggesting Andrew may relocate to Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate.

This caps a series of sanctions, including the 2022 suspension of his military patronages and public duties, all tied to his association with Jeffrey Epstein, the US financier who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

Palace sources described the measures as essential to protect the monarchy's standing, amid ongoing media scrutiny of Epstein's elite connections.

The timing follows Andrew's 2022 out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre for a reported £12 million, reached without any admission of liability.

Ms Giuffre, who died aged 41, first claimed publicly in 2015 that she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with Andrew three times in 2001, when she was 17 - allegations the prince has repeatedly denied.

Her complaint was passed to the Met's specialist crime command, which reviewed it three times between 2015 and 2019 but closed the file each time, citing insufficient evidence for a criminal investigation.

Separately, the FBI sought to question Andrew in 2019 under a US-UK mutual legal assistance treaty, but no interview took place.

Mr Cawthorne, a former Fleet Street journalist with more than 300 books on true crime and history to his name, detailed Andrew's Epstein ties in his works, including the prince's 2010 New York meeting with the financier after his initial conviction and shared flights on Epstein's private jet.

His biography of Ms Giuffre covers her recruitment into Epstein's circle at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in 1999 and her crucial role in the case that led to Ghislaine Maxwell's 2022 conviction for child sex trafficking.

Mr Cawthorne said: "With Andrew stripped of royal protections, the Met has no excuse not to pursue every lead, including FBI evidence. This scandal demands full transparency."

The palace move addresses long-standing tensions over Royal Lodge's upkeep, with repair costs estimated at £2million that Andrew has not funded, prompting the Crown Estate to enforce the lease terms.

Andrew withdrew from public life in 2019 after a BBC interview in which he expressed "no recollection" of meeting Ms Giuffre and referenced a rare medical condition that stopped him sweating - a claim which drew widespread ridicule.

His last public appearance was on September 16, 2025, at the Requiem Mass for Katharine, Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral.

The Metropolitan Police has assessed the allegation on multiple occasions and concluded there was no basis for a criminal investigation, as stated in its 2019 review.

Buckingham Palace's 90-word statement said: "His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.

"Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.

"These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.

"Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse."

Epstein's case lingers through unsealed documents from Ms Giuffre's 2015 defamation suit against Maxwell, which have implicated various prominent figures, though UK police maintain no new material warrants reopening the Andrew file. Victims' groups have echoed Mr Cawthorne's plea for a broader inquiry into high-society involvement.

As Andrew confronts his diminished status, the Epstein questions - bolstered by flight logs, photos and testimonies - remain unresolved. Mr Cawthorne's demand places the onus on Scotland Yard to review the case now that the prince is a private citizen.