London, November 6, 2025 – In a quiet but symbolically charged move, the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust has removed a commemorative plaque at Chase Farm Hospital that honored Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's role in its 2019 opening ceremony. The decision, announced this week, follows King Charles III's unprecedented stripping of his brother's royal titles last month, marking yet another chapter in the disgraced royal's ongoing downfall. This erasure of a physical remnant of Andrew's once-prominent public life underscores the broader efforts by institutions and the monarchy to distance themselves from the Epstein scandal that has haunted the family for years.
The plaque, a brass wall hanging inscribed with Andrew's name and title as the Duke of York, was unveiled during a lavish event on May 22, 2019, to celebrate the £200 million redevelopment of Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield, North London. The facility, part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust since 2014, replaced outdated infrastructure with state-of-the-art wards, operating theaters, and community health services designed to serve over 400,000 patients annually. During the ceremony, attended by healthcare leaders, local dignitaries, and staff, Andrew not only revealed the plaque but also participated in burying a time capsule in the hospital grounds—containing letters from patients, staff mementos, and predictions for future medicine—and toured the new emergency department and maternity wing.
At the time, Andrew, then 59 and a long-standing patron of the Royal Free London since 2002, praised the project effusively. "It is a huge pleasure to be here today, particularly as I am patron of the Royal Free London, and I am amazed at the speed at which this new hospital has been built," he said in remarks reported by local media. "Hospitals are about increasing the likelihood of better patient outcomes and patient healthcare, and today I have been around this new hospital, met some of your staff, and it is clear that that intent is being delivered." His involvement was seen as a capstone to his charitable work, which included advocating for healthcare access and supporting NHS innovations during his two decades as a working royal.
However, that patronage ended abruptly in January 2022, when Queen Elizabeth II, Andrew's mother, revoked his royal affiliations amid escalating legal pressures from his association with Jeffrey Epstein, the late American financier convicted of sex trafficking. The late queen's decision came after a U.S. federal judge allowed Virginia Giuffre's civil lawsuit against Andrew to proceed to trial, alleging he sexually abused her as a minor in Epstein's orbit—a claim Andrew has consistently denied. As part of the settlement reached later that year, Andrew paid an undisclosed sum estimated at £12 million ($16 million), without admitting liability, while expressing regret for his friendship with Epstein. The Royal Free Trust, like dozens of other organizations, accepted the return of his patronage, citing the need to protect their reputations and focus on patient care.
The plaque's removal, confirmed by a Trust spokesperson on November 4, was prompted by "the events of recent days and the changes to his status." This refers directly to King Charles's October 30 announcement, in which he invoked royal prerogative to strip Andrew of his "Prince" title—held since birth in 1960—as well as his Duke of York peerage, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh, and associated honors like Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and Companion of the Order of the Garter. Effective immediately, Andrew, 65, is now formally known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, a stylistic demotion that severs his last ties to royal nomenclature.
Buckingham Palace's statement described the measures as "necessary" despite Andrew's denials, aiming to shield the monarchy from further scandal amid renewed scrutiny from Giuffre's posthumously published memoir, Nobody's Girl, released in September 2025. The book, detailing her alleged encounters with Andrew in London, New York, and on Epstein's private island, reignited public outrage and parliamentary inquiries into the family's handling of the affair. The king's action, supported by heir apparent Prince William, marks only the second such stripping of a prince's title in over a century, the last being in 1919 when Prince Ernest Augustus lost his for pro-German sympathies during World War I.
Compounding the humiliation, the palace simultaneously served formal notice for Andrew to vacate Royal Lodge, the 30-room Georgian mansion in Windsor Great Park where he has resided since 2003 under a "cast-iron" lease granted by Queen Elizabeth II. The property, originally a hunting lodge rebuilt in the 1930s and once home to the young princess (now queen mother), has been a focal point of controversy due to Andrew's nominal "peppercorn" rent—essentially £1 annually—despite its £7.5 million in taxpayer-funded refurbishments. Reports indicate he will relocate to private accommodation on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, with the king providing a six-figure relocation payout and ongoing stipend to fund his lifestyle, estimated at £250,000 annually, though details remain private.
Andrew's eviction from Royal Lodge, expected post-Christmas to avoid clashing with family festivities at Sandringham, aligns with broader cost-cutting under Charles's "slimmed-down" monarchy. The residence, sprawling across 7.5 acres with a private chapel and gardens, has drawn ire from lawmakers, including the Public Accounts Committee, who questioned why a non-working royal occupied such a lavish asset amid NHS funding strains. His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who shares the home despite their 1996 divorce, will seek separate quarters, possibly Frogmore Cottage—once occupied by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
This cascade of rebukes traces back to Andrew's 2001 introduction to Epstein by Ghislaine Maxwell, leading to a friendship that included stays at Epstein's properties and flights on his jet. The 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, where Andrew infamously claimed he couldn't sweat due to a Falklands War injury and showed no remorse for Giuffre, accelerated his retreat from duties. By 2022, under Queen Elizabeth's directive, he lost 10 military affiliations and over 200 patronages, including the Royal Free.
Experts view the plaque's removal as emblematic of institutional pragmatism. "Public bodies like the NHS can't afford associations with controversy; it's about trust and funding," says Dr. Emily Andrews, a royal historian at King's College London. The Trust emphasized Andrew's lack of involvement since 2022, noting the hospital's focus on post-pandemic recovery, including a £50 million expansion for mental health services.
Public reaction has been swift and polarized. Social media buzzed with support for the Trust's decision, with hashtags like #EradicateAndrew trending, while royalists decried it as "overkill" for a man who served in the Falklands. U.S. President Donald Trump, en route to a NATO summit, expressed sympathy for the Windsors, telling reporters aboard Air Force One, "I feel badly for the family; it's a tough situation."
As Andrew navigates this diminished existence—still eighth in line to the throne but barred from regent duties—the monarchy grapples with its image. King Charles, 76 and battling cancer, prioritizes stability for Prince William's future reign, per palace insiders. The Chase Farm episode, though minor, signals no remnants of scandal will endure. For the ex-prince, once a war hero and trade envoy, it's a stark reminder: in the house of Windsor, erasure is the ultimate penalty.
