Britain's Prince Andrew is keeping his dukedom and his service rank of Vice Admiral and will remain a Counsellor of State despite agreeing to an out-of-court settlement in a sexual assault lawsuit.
There are growing calls for Andrew to give up the Duke of York title, or for Queen Elizabeth II to remove it, in the wake of his financial agreement with Virginia Giuffre, who accused the duke of having sex with her when she was 17 and a minor under US law.
The dukedom was a gift from his mother on his wedding day in 1986 and was previously used by the Queen's father George VI.
Labour MP Rachael Maskell, who represents York Central, has called on Andrew to withdraw his title to show "respect" for people living in York.
Palace sources said there has been no change to Andrew's current titles since the duke was stripped of his honorary military roles by the monarch last month, when he also stopped using his HRH style.
He remains the Duke of York and also a Vice Admiral.
As a former royal member of the armed forces who served in the Royal Navy, he was by convention promoted in line with his still-serving peers and made Vice Admiral by the Navy on his 55th birthday in 2015.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the decision on titles "rests obviously with the palace in the future".
Andrew remains in the line of succession to the throne - ninth in line - and is also a Counsellor of State.
In the event the Queen could not undertake her official duties as sovereign on a temporary basis due to illness, two or more Counsellors of State are appointed by Letters Patent to act in her place.
With the monarch, now 95, indicating today she is experiencing trouble moving, Palace aides will be under greater pressure to resolve the Counsellor of State situation in case she falls unwell.
Counsellors of State are appointed from among the following: the monarch's consort (which was the late Duke of Edinburgh) and the four adults over the age of 21 next in succession.
These are currently the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of York.
The Queen is empowered to appoint Counsellors under the Regency Acts 1937-53, and legislation would be needed to remove Andrew.
But sources have suggested there will be no change in the law.
Prince Harry also no longer carries out royal duties.
Living away from the UK in California could potentially disqualify Harry from his Counsellor of State role, although he could travel back to London if ever required, despite not being a working royal.
Last week, Charles contracted Covid, there were fears the Queen had also caught the virus, and William was abroad in Dubai, meaning the Counsellor of State roles would have fallen to Andrew and Harry if both the monarch and Charles were too unwell to carry out duties.
Duke under pressure to explain source of settlement funds
The Duke of York is also facing calls to confirm he will fund the multimillion-pound cost of the settlement and not the public or royal family.
Andrew will have to pay a legal bill of up to £12m, according to speculation.
The scandal, which has left Andrew's reputation in tatters, risks further damaging the monarchy if the perception remains that he has escaped any financial obligations, lawyer Mark Stephens has suggested.
The prince agreed to make a "substantial donation" to his accuser's charity after the pair came to the undisclosed out-of-court settlement.
Mr Stephens, an international reputation lawyer from the firm Howard Kennedy, said the duke will have to give details of where the settlement money is from or risk more "reputational damage" to the monarchy.
He said: "There's absolute uproar on social media and mainstream media with people mistakenly thinking this money has come from taxpayers' money or the civil list.
"And I think there's equal concern that it comes from the royal family and what they want to see is that Andrew is paying out of his own pocket - that he's personally being financially punished here.
"And I think he's going to have to clarify within the next 24 to 48 hours from his team, that it's come from his own private resources or will do."
The lawyer's words mirrored the thoughts of royal finances expert and author David McClure, who said there is "enormous public interest" in the sum and the source of the funding being disclosed.
Mr McClure added: "I really think for once the royal family should come clean and say where the money came from."
Although the parties have settled the case, the agreement is not an admission of guilt from the duke and he has always strenuously denied the allegations against him.
No detail has been disclosed with regard to the settlement and costs, but it has been reported the duke has agreed to pay around £10m to Ms Giuffre and a further £2m to her charity, with speculation the Queen might help with costs from her private funds.
Andrew is reportedly in the process of selling his Swiss ski chalet with the property expected to generate many millions in funds.
