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prince andrew deletes social media© Photo: Getty Images

Prince Andrew deletes social media accounts after being stripped of titles

The Duke of York is facing a US civil trial on sexual abuse allegations

Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
January 19, 2022
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The Duke of York's social media accounts have been deactivated after he was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages last week.

Prince Andrew's Twitter account @thedukeofyork is no longer active on the platform, while his Instagram page @hrhthedukeofyork has been made private.

The Duke's official Facebook page remains active, but was last updated in January 2020. A source close to the Prince has reportedly told MailOnline that all of his social media channels had now been removed and are no longer live, but some of them were taking longer to filter through.

The source told the newspaper: "The changes have been made to reflect the recent statement from Buckingham Palace regarding The Duke of York."

READ: What happens to Prince Andrew's military titles and royal patronages now?

WATCH: The Queen strips Andrew of honorary military roles and royal patronages

The British monarchy's official website has also been updated as the institution seeks to distance itself from the Queen's second son, who is facing a civil sexual assault trial in the US. Andrew still appears under the section "Members of the Royal Family", but the list of his now ex-military posts and patronages has been removed.

Last week, it was confirmed that Prince Andrew, 61, had handed back his military titles and royal patronages to the Queen, as he faces a civil sex case trial in the US.

The statement from Buckingham Palace read: "With The Queen's approval and agreement, The Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen. The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen."

The Duke will also no longer use the style 'His Royal Highness' in any official capacity.

MORE: Watch the moment Prince Charles is unexpectedly asked about his brother Prince Andrew amid court case

MORE: Prince Andrew pictured for the first time since ruling on US civil sex assault case

prince andrew driven windsor© Photo: Rex

Prince Andrew pictured in Windsor last week

The palace statement followed a ruling made by US Judge Kaplan, who dismissed a notion by Andrew's lawyers to have the case brought by Virginia Giuffee thrown out.

Ms. Giuffre is suing the Duke for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. She is seeking unspecified damages, but there is speculation the sum could be in the millions of dollars.

She claims she was trafficked by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with Andrew when she was aged 17 and a minor under US law.

The Duke has denied all allegations.

Andrew stepped back from public duties in November 2019, following his TV interview with BBC Newsnight, which focused on his connections to Epstein. 

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