New blow for Andrew as famed theatre ditches his former royal title

There has been yet another indignation for Andrew Mountbatten-Winsdor, with a theatre bearing his former royal title undergoing a name change.

The Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s West End was actually named after another Duke of York, but the title is now so toxic the venue has severed ties with the name.

Instead, the theatre will be known as Tom Stoppard Theatre from this week, with the name change coming into effect from July 1.

Stoppard was a celebrated playwright whose work spanned six decades.

He was best known for the plays Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Arcadia, but also worked as a screenwriter, and won an Academy Award for his work on the 1998 Gwyneth Paltrow film, Shakespeare in Love.

The theatre had been known as The Duke of York’s Theatre since 1895 when it renamed in honour of the then Duke of York, who later became King George V.

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He was the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth, and great-grandfather of Andrew.

The BBC said the theatre’s owner, ATG Entertainment, was renaming the venue as a “lasting tribute... to one of the most influential playwrights in British theatre”.

The theatre owners did not say whether the decision was connected with the most recent Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who gave up the title last year.

Since then, his brother King Charles also stripped him of the title of Prince, and evicted from his home of more than two decades, Royal Lodge.

Earlier this year, he was arrested on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was detained and questioned for about 12 hours, before being released without charge.

He had been keeping a low profile at his new home, Marsh Farm, on King Charles private Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, until earlier this week, when he was spotted at the  Sandringham Horse Driving Trials.

His sister-in-law Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, was competing at the event, which took place on the King’s estate.

UK media outlet The Sun captured a photo of the former prince leaving the event behind the wheel of a Land Rover.

The Sun quoted onlookers spotted him watching Sophie compete in the carriage driving competition from a secluded area covered by trees instead of sitting in the main arena.

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“Andrew sneaked in and sneaked out and definitely didn’t want to be seen,” The Sun reported.

“I saw Andrew leave the field at 10.30am, just after Sophie had ridden her round, then I saw Edward walking towards his car smiling shortly afterwards.”

While Andrew has been out of the public eye, his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, has also been keeping a low profile, and was recently spotted in the Austrian Alps.

Meanwhile, Hello! is reporting the former Duchess of York was not bothered by losing her title.

Ongoing revelations about the former couple’s strong ties with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein continues to haunt the pair.

Just last week, Western Australian Police announced a review of the death of Virgina Giuffre, who said she was sex trafficked to Mountbatten-Windsor by Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing.