After weeks of speculation, Prince Andrew is officially vacating Royal Lodge amid renewed scrutiny over his ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In an unprecedented statement on Thursday, Oct. 30, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles is stripping Andrew of all his titles and privileges.

“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor,” the statement began.

“His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the statement continued.

“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse,” the statement concluded.

PEOPLE understands that Prince Andrew will relocate to a property on the private Sandringham estate, though no details have been disclosed. Any future accommodation will be privately funded by King Charles.

Formal notice has been served today for Andrew to surrender the lease, with the move set to take place as soon as practicable.

The so-called “cast-iron” lease had been a sticking point — as a legally binding agreement, the King is obliged to respect the law. Negotiations between all parties were required for Prince Andrew to formally surrender the lease.

Tension recently heightened over Andrew’s living arrangements when The Times in the U.K. published a redacted version of his lease, showing that he was entitled to live at Royal Lodge on a peppercorn rent, after he paid around $10.6 million for the lease and the refurbishments that were then carried out. (A “peppercorn rent” is a term referring to a very small amount of rent, sometimes as small as a single peppercorn.)

PEOPLE understands that Andrew’s cast iron lease has been an issue in proceedings — a lease has legal force and The King must, by Oath, respect the laws of his own country. It has required negotiation between all parties for Prince Andrew to serve formal notice to surrender the lease.

The Sun newspaper reported on Oct. 27 that in exchange for leaving the 30-room Royal Lodge, Andrew wanted two homes in return: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s former home of Frogmore Cottage for himself and Adelaide Cottage, which Prince William and Kate Middleton are about to vacate, for his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who has continued to reside at Royal Lodge since their divorce in 1996.

“Frogmore Cottage is too small for both, and Adelaide Cottage is around the corner so they will see each other whenever they want,” a source told The Sun.

There had also been talk of Prince Andrew leaving for one of the vast royal estates in Scotland or Norfolk. However, Andrew has reportedly said he wants to be as close as possible to his two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who have homes in London and nearby in the southeast of England.

Prince Andrew announced on Friday, Oct. 17, that he would give up use of his royal title as the Duke of York as well as other titles and honors amid renewed interest in his relationship to Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.

Andrew stepped back from his public royal role in 2019 following his headline-making BBC interview in which he discussed his relationship with Epstein.

Queen Elizabeth stripped her son of his military titles and patronages in January 2022, after a judge rejected his attempt to have Giuffre’s sexual assault lawsuit against him dismissed. Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and settled with Giuffre out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Prince Andrew has continued to join the royals at family gatherings since, but The Sunday Times recently reported that Andrew and his ex-wife wouldn’t be welcomed by King Charles for their annual Christmas outing at Sandringham this year. Similar to 2024, when Andrew’s Chinese spy scandal was in the headlines and Sarah was “enlisted” to keep him from the family festivities, the monarch reportedly asked the pair to keep a low profile at the holidays and celebrate on their own.

A source close to the monarch told the outlet, “You can’t sack someone from being your brother. But this year, if the duke and duchess were both to be as honorable [as last year], it would be very much for the best and the family would not be disappointed, not least to avoid the King having to make any more difficult decisions.”