Have I Got News For You had to be halted on Friday night as Jason Manford delivered some ‘breaking news’ about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. King Charles made the decision to formally strip his brother of his titles on Thursday after Andrew, 65, faced scrutiny from MPs and public revulsion following his links to paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, and the allegations he sexually abused Virginia Giuffre.

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The BBC’s topical comedy news programme, which is recorded shortly before broadcast, had Jason Manford in the hot seat and he had to stop the proceedings momentarily to relay the news to the studio audience. He said: “Hold on, hold on, we’ve got some breaking news. This is the news that Andrew is no longer a prince.”

At this point, the audience cheered and Jason exclaimed: “Crikey!” Determined to have the last laugh, comedian Paul Merton chimed in with: “The bad news is he’s become King!”

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The audience cheered when Jason delivered the news(Image: BBC)

Andrew has always denied the allegations against him. This week, it was announced that Prince Andrew would be stripped of his royal titles. A Buckingham Palace statement read: “His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.

Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.

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“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”

Since announcing he would be giving up his titles, Andrew was also exposed for lying about cutting off contact with late convicted paedophile Epstein. In his 2019 car crash interview on BBC Newsnight, he claimed he has ceased contact with Epstein in 2010 – but an email appeared to show they were still in contact a year later.

In the same interview, Andrew also said he had no recollection of meeting his accuser Ms Giuffre. In 2021, she filed a lawsuit against him, which Andrew settled out of court for a rumoured £12million, without admitting any wrongdoing. Ms Giuffre died by suicide in April this year.

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Andrew was also ordered to leave Royal Lodge in Windsor and will move into an undisclosed private residence on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk as soon as practicable.

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The disgraced royal will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor(Image: Getty Images)

Charles will privately fund Andrew’s new accommodation while also making private financial provisions for his brother. Commenting on what Andrew may do next now he is no longer a prince, Emily said: “I would also say that you have to think of the cottage in Sandringham and the stipend that comes from The King as being, if you like, the Royal equivalent of an NDA.

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“The last thing that Charles wants right now is to see Andrew write a book like [Harry’s] Spare or sell his story to an American TV station, or go off and get himself into a role that allows him to exploit other members of the Royal Family and what he knows about them. And so, my sense is that there is just the long arm of this private payment being made to Andrew to sort of say, I’ve got you, but you are in my sights.

“There can be no book. There can be no craziness. I mean, it’s a very good question of, is he meant to earn his own money? Is he meant to go out and get a job and the sense I’m getting is they’d sort of prefer him not to, at least nothing public, because that then does create a real problem.”

Emily also revealed on the podcast that she has spoken to sources “very close” to The King and Queen and understood that Prince William was not a driving force behind the decision to remove Andrew’s style, titles and honours. “I was told last night that it is Prince William who’s most concerned about the state of his uncle’s mental health,” the journalist told her The News Agents co-hosts Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall.