Prince Andrew has lost his royal titles as he prepares to face a civil sexual abuse lawsuit in the United States.

He will no longer be referred to as His Royal Highness, and has been stripped of his military and royal patronages.

The decision was made by the Queen, reportedly in consultation with Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince William.

It comes after Prince Andrew’s lawyers failed to persuade a US judge to dismiss a civil sex abuse lawsuit against him.

Jubilee and associate editor at Royal Central, Lydia Starbuck, says the royal family is “basically cutting him adrift”.

“Andrew is now completely separate from the royal family as an institution, the kind of working royal family that’s out there representing the country, representing the Queen, Andrew isn’t a part of that anymore,” she told Stephen Quartermain and Emily Power, filling in for Ross and Russel.

“These patronages will be redistributed, even if the court case goes completely his way there’s no way back.”

Ms Starbuck says the final line of Buckingham Palace’s statement on the stripping of Prince Andrew’s titles and patronages — which says he will face court in the US as a private citizen — is “very, very telling”.

Press PLAY below to hear more about the implications the stripping of roles and titles will have

A statement from Buckingham Palace regarding The Duke of York: pic.twitter.com/OCeSqzCP38

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) January 13, 2022

Image: Steve Parsons – WPA Pool/Getty Images