Three Canadian regiments without royal patron after Prince Andrew stripped of titles

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they could not unilaterally dissociate themselves from Prince Andrew but had to wait for his honorary titles to be withdrawn by the Queen or the prince himself.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2022.

The Canadian Press