Rachael Maskell is to press ahead with a bid to legally strip the Duke of York title from Prince Andrew.
On Friday, the Prince voluntarily gave up the title in the wake of the Epstein scandal.
But Ms Maskell says that is not enough.
The York Central MP told YorkMix that it was a relief that Prince Andrew had stepped back from his dukedom and his “ambassadorial association” with the city.
And she said the decision would be popular here. “When there was polling in York, 80% of York residents said that they wanted to see that disassociation. So absolutely, it’s the right decision.”
Now, though, she is looking to bring back her private members’ bill to enable royal titles to be removed by the monarch, which she first introduced in 2022.
Ms Maskell said: “I will be bringing forward my Removal of Titles Bill, because he still holds that title, and I think we need to see that title now removed.
“It can’t be removed, not even by the king, because there isn’t a process for that. And I’ve worked with the clerks in the House of Commons to find a mechanism in which to achieve that.”
What would then happen to the title?
“The title Duke of York could be given to someone else, but that would be at the choice of the monarch. But having a mechanism to remove that is absolutely crucial.”
City of York Council leader Claire Douglas also welcomed Prince Andrew shedding his Duke of York title.
She told YorkMix: “It’s the right thing. We can’t deny that the Duke of York has been involved in some practices that none of us would think were acceptable, and he has been a representative of our city in title for many years and that just needed to end.
“In fact, the council did call for this three years ago through a motion that we took to full council, and it didn’t happen then.”
What would she like to see happen to the title now?
“I hope that somebody else will be given that title. And I would really love to see somebody who wants to come and get to know our city and our communities and work with us for the benefit of York. That would be really positive.”
