Prince William Could Break Old Royal Tradition To Ensure Son, Louis, Doesn't Inherit Andrew's 'Tarnished' Title

The fallout from Prince Andrew's ties to Jeffrey Epstein could bring an end to a centuries-old royal tradition, even after the disgraced duke's recent decision to relinquish his titles.

It is being speculated that the monarchy may retire Andrew's "Duke of York" title, implying that Prince William's son, Prince Louis, who is next in line according to tradition, won't be given the title.

Such a move would seemingly restore public trust and demonstrate moral clarity, after Prince Andrew's ties to Epstein tarnished the title.

Experts who have been closely monitoring Prince Andrew's Epstein scandal have speculated that the monarchy may decide to permanently retire the Duke of York title after he recently relinquished it.

Next in line for the title is Prince Louis, per royal customs, but it is now believed that this centuries-old tradition may be broken over the scandal that has brought much negative traction to the royal family.

"The terribly tarnished title of Duke of York will not be offered to Prince Louis or, for that matter, any other royal, probably in our lifetimes, nor in the foreseeable future," said royals expert Hilary Fordwich in an interview with Fox News Digital.

For now, the monarchy has not indicated if they will follow this part, but Fordwich believes this is the right thing to do if they intend to win back public trust.

"It will most likely be put in abeyance to die with Prince Andrew," she said. "Tradition should be abandoned to restore public trust and to demonstrate moral clarity."

Fordwich also suggested that, beyond the widespread belief that the scandal has tarnished the monarchy's reputation, there could be personal reasons that might lead to this decision.

"William won't wish his son to be tarnished by any memories of his disgraced great-uncle," said the royal expert.

She added, "He was behind his uncle's title being rescinded permanently, advocating strongly for this despicable scandal to be met with decisive disciplinary action."

Her stance was backed by another expert, Richard Fitzwilliams, who described the "York brand" as "toxic."

"It is most unlikely that it will be used by the royal family in the near future," Fitzwilliams added. "Sarah Ferguson was the Duchess of York and has proven to be a shocker, too."

Andrew made headlines years back when a victim of Jeffrey Epstein accused him of sleeping with her when she was still a minor.

In 2019, he denied the accusation in a BBC interview, saying the alleged incidents never happened.

By 2021, the victim, the late Virginia Giuffre, sued the disgraced Prince for sexual assault, a suit that was later settled out of court in February 2022 with no admission of guilt.

Just as it seemed the drama around the matter had died down, Andrew came under fire again after a controversial email exchange between him and Jeffrey Epstein emerged.

The email was reportedly sent three months after he claimed to have cut ties with the convicted sex offender.

What followed was Andrew announcing that he had spoken with the royal family and had decided to relinquish all of his titles.

Once again, there was no admission of guilt; rather, the former duke wrote that he vigorously denies the accusations against him.

Andrew's statement, despite its intention, wasn't well-received by many. According to Fordwich, it shouldn't be viewed as an act of remorse, but rather as an attempt from the former duke to preserve the "last bit of honor" he has left.

"One would like to think he is finally doing the decent thing, but with the avalanche of public outrage bowling towards him, this is really just trying to salvage the last bit of honor he possibly could," she said, per Fox News Digital. "Better late than never, though!"

Fordwich also slammed Andrew's insistence on his innocence, saying it is "despicable."

"His not offering an apology is beyond despicable! He should disappear completely now and never be heard of nor seen again," Fordwich said.

Besides making sure his youngest son does not inherit Andrew's title, William reportedly has other major plans in store for his uncle when he becomes king.

The Prince of Wales is said to be set on banning the former Duke of York from his coronation and every aspect of royal life due to his ties to Epstein.

According to The Sunday Times, William's ban will also affect Andrew's wife, Sarah Ferguson, but not their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.