"I'm just glad his mother isn't around to see it", said one Londoner outside Windsor Castle yesterday morning.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, as he is now known, was often rumoured to be the favourite of his late mother.
In the unauthorised biography, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, author Andrew Lownie points out that the former prince was born 12 years after his brother, the King, and ten years after Princess Anne.
Andrew was therefore treated as the first child of the Queen's "second family".
The former prince was often reported to have a sense of entitlement about him and a particular fondness for the trappings of royal life.
It is why Thursday's announcement by Buckingham Palace that he would formally lose all of his royal titles, along with the sprawling Royal Lodge on Windsor Estate, was widely viewed as a punishment that would have been particularly difficult for Andrew to accept.
A case of when, not if
Ever since the publication of the late Virginia Giuffre's posthumous memoir, there has been a growing sense that King Charles would have to take tougher action against his younger brother.
"How long have you known about Andrew and Epstein", a protestor shouted at the King as shook hands with a crowd outside a cathedral in Staffordshire on Tuesday.
In ordinary circumstances, a lone heckler would rarely attract much attention. However, video footage of the incident soon went viral, as it demonstrated that public anger over Prince Andrew was overshadowing the work of the royals.
It was a case of when, not if the King would take action.
On Thursday evening, Buckingham Palace revealed what that action would be.
Carefully considered
For several weeks, Andrew's days in his opulent Royal Lodge have been seen as numbered.
The 30-room mansion, shared with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, had been his home for over 20 years.
While investing over £8m when he first moved in, recently he had only been paying a peppercorn rent, a nominal amount.
Located on the Windsor Estate, close to the home of William and Kate, Andrew's presence in the mansion presented a significant headache for the Royals.
Evicting him was not straightforward, given that he had a lease until 2078.
Not only did Thursday's statement announce that the lease would be surrendered, but it went further, revealing that Andrew would lose the "Prince" title.
The time lag between the publication of Virginia Giuffre's memoir and the actions of the Royal Family was said to be down to the King's careful consideration.
A friend of the King's, broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby, told BBC radio that the King would have gone through due process to ensure that the measures he took would be implementable.
In the end the King managed to remove his brother from the Royal Lodge and also revoke his titles.
A YouGov poll yesterday indicated that 79% of people supported the removal of the prince's titles. While 53% felt the King had done all he could.
Controversy likely to linger
Virginia Giuffre's brother praised King Charles for the decisions he took.
However, Sky Roberts also called for further action against the prince, telling the BBC that Andrew should be "behind bars".
Andrew has always denied all allegations against him, but he has also been criticised for not offering to co-operate with those investigating his former friend, the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
There are issues on the home front too.
Last month, the Met police confirmed that is looking into reports that the former prince asked his protection officer to find personal information about Ms Giuffre.
Politicians are also calling for legislation to be passed to formally remove Andrew from the line of succession, where he's placed at number eight.
The actions of King Charles in removing his brother's titles and mansion have helped to distance the wider Royal family from the controversies surrounding Andrew.
However, while the former prince may hope to live a low-key life on the private Sandringham estate, he's likely to remain under the spotlight for some time to come.
