Prince Andrew became Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Prince Andrew became Mr Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor last night in a landmark moment for the Royal Family.

King Charles’ younger brother was stripped of his titles and has to surrender the lease on his Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge, over his ties to the late convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.

It means he will effectively live as a private citizen, although he denies all accusations of wrongdoing.

Here’s a look at why this is such a major moment for the Royal Family, and what might happen next.

Why has this happened?

Andrew has faced intense scrutiny over his friendship with disgraced financier Epstein for more than a decade.

One of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, who said she was Epstein’s “sex slave”, alleged that the royal had sex with her on three separate occasions when she was a teenager.

The debacle came to a head after Andrew tried – and failed – to clear his name in a car crash interview with BBC Newsnight back in 2019.

He subsequently stood down from life as a working royal amid widespread backlash but retained his titles.

Then, in January 2022, it was announced he would not use the His Royal Highness style in any official capacity.

But public discontent over his ongoing access to elements of royal life persisted, and earlier this month that the King decided to go much further with Andrew’s punishment. He decided to strip Andrew of his title as Duke of York.

The fallout then worsened, so the monarch has now adopted a stronger approach to what is understood to be “Andrew’s serious lapses in judgement”.

It comes after the publication of Giuffre’s post-humous memoirs where she reiterated her original claims earlier this month.

An email from February 2011 to Epstein – after he was registered as a sex offender in the US – also re-emerged this October.

The Mail on Sunday claimed it was from Andrew, and that

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