Councillors have voted to strip Prince Andrew of his Freedom of the City of York in an unprecedented move tonight (Wednesday).
The honour was bestowed on the Duke of York by the council in 1987.
But at an extraordinary City of York Council meeting at York Racecourse, members voted unanimously to take the honour away.
He is the first person ever to have the Freedom of the City removed, councillors were told.
The motion was tabled by Liberal Democrat Cllr Darryl Smalley. He told the meeting at York Racecourse: “The allegations levelled at Prince Andrew, as well as his associations with convicted abusers, are incredibly serious and cannot be ignored.
“We’ve previously debated at length our commitment as a council and the city to stand with victims of sexual abuse and work to end violence against women and girls.
“As such, we believe it is inappropriate for Prince Andrew to retain his ambassadorial title so intrinsically linked to our great city.”
He said the next logical step “would be for Prince Andrew to do the right thing and relinquish his title of Duke of York.
“If he fails to do so, Buckingham Palace and the government must step in to remove his title to finally end Prince Andrew’s connection to York.”
The motion was supported by the Labour group, Conservatives and the Greens. Only two abstained: the Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Chris Cullwick, and leader of the York Independent Group, Cllr David Carr.
Cllr Carr said: “I’ve been advised that as Lord Mayor elect I should not participate in this debate and I shall be abstaining on the vote.”
Earlier, York resident Gwen Swinburn had urged the council to go further. She told the meeting:
Mr Andrew Windsor is an utter disgrace. He brings shame and reputational damage everywhere he goes, including to our city.
The motion to withdraw his Freedom status goes nowhere near far enough. He needs to be declared persona non grata in York.
You need to be starting whatever process is needed to remove his Duke title. You need to instruct staff and agree with Members, to never use that title in any context.
You need to instruct staff to never invite him to any event, ever.
As we all know he loves his horse racing, so please agree to write to the racecourse asking he never be invited there.
For Labour, Cllr Aisling Musson said York needed to end “this stain of an association with this city”, adding:
I feel we also need to withdraw the title because we owe it to the people of York, particularly those who have been affected affected by sexual violence, abuse or human trafficking. Our first duty is not to our reputation, but their wellbeing and protection.
For the Conservatives, Cllr Martin Rowley endorsed the motion, while pointing out that the prince has not been convicted of any crime. He also said:
I would just like to challenge the council and the executive, that we look into a way to ensure that nobody receives a Freeman of the City award as a result of a right of birth or a standing in the community, other than that that they have given to the community.
Independent Cllr Dave Taylor also backed the motion, and said:
My personal hope is that, in the future, the monarch might appoint the Princess Beatrice to be Duchess of York. In contrast to her father, she is personable, intelligent, and does her homework, or reads her briefing paper, when visiting the city of York.
Prince Andrew agreed to settle the civil sex assault claim against him in February.
Virginia Giuffre, also known as Virginia Roberts, made a claim against Prince Andrew for damages in her home country of the US, claiming she was trafficked by Jeffery Epstein, Andrew’s friend, to have sex with the royal when she was 17, a minor under US law.
Prince Andrew denies the claims.
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Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Smalley said: “I was pleased to see councillors of all parties support this motion and make it clear that it is no longer appropriate for Prince Andrew to represent York and its residents.
“The removal of this honorary title sends the right message that we as a city stand with victims of abuse.”
Both Buckingham Palace and a spokesperson for the Duke of York declined to comment.