City moves on Mountbatten-Windsor Freedom honour

The City of London is to express its "disapproval" in Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after he failed to reply to a letter asking him to relinquish an historic honour.

The disgraced former prince received the Freedom of the City of London in 2012 "by virtue of patrimony", due to his father Prince Phillip having been a Freeman.

The City of London Corporation, which governs the so-called Square Mile, said in March that the historic honour cannot be taken back.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Corporation members have "now agreed to bring forward a motion of censure – a formal expression of our disapproval". Mountbatten-Windsor has been approached for comment.

A City of London Corporation spokesperson said: "We wrote to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in April inviting him to formally relinquish his Freedom of the City of London.

"Following his failure to respond, elected members of our Policy and Resources Committee have agreed to bring forward a motion of censure – a formal expression of our disapproval – to the next meeting of the Court of Common Council on 21 May.

"There is currently no effective legal mechanism to remove a Freedom. Our thoughts remain firmly with the victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and all victims of sexual abuse and exploitation."

The Freedom, which allows its recipients to walk sheep over London Bridge, is typically awarded to individuals nominated by corporation councillors.

Mountbatten-Windsor inherited the status as the child of a Freeman and constitutes a legal right.

Though today largely a ceremonial honour the Freedom is still awarded to individuals on a regular basis.

Sir Lenny Henry and Cate Blanchett are among those to have received the honour.

The former prince was stripped of his royal titles, styles and honours by King Charles last year after further details of his relationship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein came to light.

In February he was arrested after correspondence in the Epstein Files suggested he may have passed on sensitive trade information, and was released under investigation after spending 11 hours in custody.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

Additional reporting by Winnie Agbonlahor

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