Three Canadian regiments without royal patron after Prince Andrew stripped of titles
Published January 13, 2022 at 4:44 pm
OTTAWA — Three Canadian regiments have been left without a patron after the Queen today stripped Prince Andrew of all his military titles and royal patronages.
The disgraced Duke of York was the honorary colonel-in-chief of three Canadian regiments: The Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada, The Princess Louise Fusiliers and the Queen’s York Rangers.
Rideau Hall and a spokesman for the Canadian Armed Forces confirm that those titles have now been “relinquished” by the prince, the Queen’s second oldest son.
Royal expert Richard Berthelsen, a former adviser to past lieutenant-governors and governors general in Canada, says the Queen’s decision puts an end to two years of uncertainty for the three Canadian regiments.
Private organizations in Canada — including Lakefield College School, the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, the Maple Bay Yacht Club and the SickKids Foundation — that had once sought the prince’s patronage severed their ties with him in 2019 when he stepped aside from all public duties amid a sex trafficking scandal.
But until now, Berthelsen says the military regiments’ hands were tied; they could not unilaterally dissociate themselves from Prince Andrew but had to wait for his honorary titles to be withdrawn by the Queen or the prince himself.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2022.
The Canadian Press
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