Banned old Duke of York: Prince Andrew stripped of keys to city
The northern English city of York has stripped Prince Andrew, who is the Duke of York, of the freedom of the city.
Local councillors voted en masse to rescind the honour bestowed on Andrew, the Queenās second son, in 1987.
Andrew, who has fallen from grace as a member of the royal family, in February settled a US lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre accusing him of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager, potentially sparing him further embarrassment.
āThe honorary freedom of our great city is bestowed on those who represent the very best of York. Itās inappropriate for Prince Andrew to retain any connection to our city,ā Darryl Smalley, a York city councillor, said.
Andrew, 62, did not admit wrongdoing in agreeing to settle the civil lawsuit.
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He has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.
Giuffreās case had focused on Andrewās friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a financier and sex offender who Giuffre said had also sexually abused her.
Epstein was found dead in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Andrew has denied accusations that he forced Giuffre, who now lives in Australia, to have sex when aged 17 more than two decades ago at the London home of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, at Epsteinās mansion in Manhattan and Epsteinās private island in the US Virgin Islands.
The royal family in January removed Andrewās military titles and royal patronages and said he would no longer be known as āHis Royal Highnessā.
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