Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

**Prince Andrew, Duke of York** (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born February 19, 1960) is a member of the British royal family, He is the third and second son of Elizabeth II and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He is 8th in Line to the British throne.

He has two older siblings Charles III (b.1948) and Anne, Princess Royal (b.1950) and younber brother Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar (b.1964).

In 1986, he married Sarah, Duchess of York and was created Duke of York. They have two daughters Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Brooksbank. Their marriage, separation in 1992, and divorce in 1996 attracted extensive media coverage.

## Early Life

Andrew was born in the Belgian Suite of Buckingham Palace on 19 February 1960 at 3:30 p.m., the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He was baptised in the palace's Music Room on 8 April 1960.

## Education

As with his siblings, Charles, Anne, and Edward, Andrew was looked after by a governess, who was responsible for his early education at Buckingham Palace. He was sent to Heatherdown School near Ascot in Berkshire. In September 1973, he entered Gordonstoun, in northern Scotland, which his father and elder brother had also attended. He was nicknamed "the Sniggerer" by his schoolmates at Gordonstoun, because of "his penchant for off-colour jokes, at which he laughed inordinately". While there, he spent six months—from January to June 1977—participating in an exchange programme to Lakefield College School in Canada. He left Gordonstoun in July two years later with A-levels in English, history, and economics.

## Personal Life

Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey on 23 July 1986. On the same day, Queen Elizabeth II created him Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, and Baron Killyleagh. The first two of these titles were previously held by both his maternal grandfather and great-grandfather. Prince Andrew had known Ferguson since childhood; they had met occasionally at polo matches, and became re-acquainted with each other at Royal Ascot in 1985.

The couple appeared to have a happy marriage and had two daughters together, Beatrice and Eugenie, presenting a united outward appearance during the late 1980s. His wife's personal qualities were seen as refreshing in the context of the formal protocol surrounding the royal family. However, Andrew's frequent travel due to his military career, as well as relentless, often critical, media attention focused on the Duchess of York, led to fractures in the marriage. On 19 March 1992, the couple announced plans to separate and did so in an amicable way. Some months later, pictures appeared in the tabloid media of the Duchess in intimate association with John Bryan, her financial advisor at the time, which effectively ended any hopes of a reconciliation between Andrew and Ferguson. The marriage was ended in divorce on 30 May 1996. The Duke of York spoke fondly of his former wife: "We have managed to work together to bring our children up in a way that few others have been able to and I am extremely grateful to be able to do that."

The couple agreed to share custody of their two daughters, and the family continued to live at Sunninghill Park (built near Windsor Great Park for the couple in 1990) until Andrew moved to the Royal Lodge in 2004. In 2007, Sarah moved into Dolphin House in Englefield Green, less than a mile from the Royal Lodge. In 2008, a fire at Dolphin House resulted in Sarah moving into Royal Lodge, again sharing a house with Andrew. Andrew's lease of Royal Lodge is for 75 years, with the Crown Estate as landlord, at a cost of a single £1 million premium and a commitment to spend £7.5 million on refurbishment.

In May 2010, Sarah was filmed by a *News of the World* reporter saying Andrew had agreed that if she were to receive £500,000, he would meet the donor and pass on useful top-level business contacts. She was filmed receiving, in cash, $40,000 as a down payment. The paper said that Andrew did not know of the situation. In July 2011, Sarah stated that her multi-million pound debts had been cleared due to the intervention of her former husband, whom she compared to a "knight on a white charger"

## Tittles and Succession

* February 19, 1960 - July 23, 1986: *His Royal Highness The Prince Andrew*
* July 23, 1986 - present: *His Royal Highness The Duke of York*
	+ in Scotland: *The Earl of Inverness*
	+ in Northern Ireland: *Baron Killyleaghhe*

As of September 2022, Andrew is eighth in the line of succession to the British throne. On rare occasions, he is known by his secondary titles of Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh, in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.

In 2019, Inverness residents started a campaign to strip him of that title, stating that "it is inappropriate that Prince Andrew is associated with our beautiful city", in light of his friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Similar pleas have been made by people affiliated with the village of Killyleagh and the city of York regarding his titles of Baron Killyleagh and Duke of York, with Labour Co-op MP for York Central, Rachael Maskell, stating that she would look for ways to make Andrew give up his ducal title if he did not voluntarily relinquish it. In January 2022, it was reported that, while Andrew retains the style of *His Royal Highness*, he would no longer use it in a public capacity. In April 2022, several York councillors called for Andrew to lose the title Duke of York. Also in 2022, there was a renewed petition to strip him of the Earl of Inverness title