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16 Apr 2026
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16 Apr 2026
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Elected members of the City of London Corporation have agreed to write to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to invite him to give up his freedom of the city.
The former prince was given the honour in 2012, a spokesperson for the local authority said.
He received the honour by patrimony – because his father Prince Philip was a freeman of the city.
In a statement released on Thursday, a spokesperson for the City of London Corporation said: “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received the freedom of the City of London in 2012 by virtue of patrimony, which is inherited as the child of a freeman and constitutes a legal right.
“Applications via patrimony are not considered or endorsed by our elected members, and there is no effective legal mechanism to remove this type of freedom.
“Elected members have today agreed to write to Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, inviting him to formally relinquish the freedom.
“They will consider the response received, if any, at a future meeting and determine what action may be taken.”
One of the City of London’s ancient traditions, the freedom is believed to have begun in 1237 and enabled recipients to carry out their trade.
Typically, the honour is awarded to people nominated by corporation councillors and Sir Lenny Henry and Cate Blanchett are among those to have received the honour.
All of Andrew’s siblings – including the King – also have freedom of the city of London.
The announcement by the corporation comes after Sarah Ferguson lost her freedom of the city of York title in March after councillors voted unanimously to remove the honour over her links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
She and Andrew were given the honour as a wedding present from York in 1987 during a visit to the city.
Councillors removed Andrew’s freedom of the city of York in 2022 and the meeting at the time heard that he was the first person ever to have it taken away.
If the former duke agrees to relinquish the London honour, it will be another in a string of titles he has lost over his association with Epstein.
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