Fresh blow for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as city prepares to strip him of title
A Northern Ireland council has voted to initiate the process to strip Prince Andrew of a street name honour awarded following his 1986 marriage to Sarah Ferguson
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has suffered a new setback as a UK council has voted to remove a street name honour bestowed upon him following his marriage to Sarah Ferguson.
In addition to becoming the Duke of York after their 1986 wedding, Andrew’s name was given to a street in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Prince Andrew Way has been in existence since then, but the former royal’s ties with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein have led to a significant shift in attitudes towards the street’s name.
Local councillors have now started the process to change the name of Prince Andrew Way as requests mounted following King Charles III’s decision to strip him of his title as Prince. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
This week, Belfast Live reports, Lauren Gray, an Alliance Party Councillor on the local Mid and East Antrim Council, proposed that Prince Andrew Way should be renamed. Ms Gray has received requests for the change ever since she was first elected in 2019, but they have reached a fever pitch over the last year.
With the council “now in a place to have this conversation”, a motion to change the name to honour another royal has now been seconded, reports the Mirror.
Ms Gray has proposed that the street maintain its royal connections, but through Queen Elizabeth II in a “fitting tribute” to a “strong female leader in a male-dominated world”.
She stated: “In recent weeks as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor stepped away from some of the titles conferred on him, and now with the Royal Family removing his style, title and honours, we’re now in the space to have this conversation.
“Certainly with the level of public comment locally, it would seem we are long overdue in looking at what it would take to make this change.
“Carrickfergus has a long connection with the Royal Family, and when I tabled this motion, it was with the idea of honouring a long-serving monarch, a strong female leader in a male-dominated world.
“Since then many conversations have taken place, online and across different community settings, and what is absolutely clear is that the people of Carrickfergus deserve to have a say in how we progress this going forward.”
Ms Gray’s seconded motion has received support from all parties represented on the council, including the DUP, UUP, TUV and Sinn Fein.
Now that it’s been accepted, council officers will present a report to councillors on the renaming process, which is expected to include a mechanism for public consultation – with 10 addresses represented on the street.
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