Prince Andrew’s royal titles were not included alongside his name in the official message from the royal Twitter account to mark his 61st birthday.
The Duke of York is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Charles and Princess Anne are his older siblings.
Prince Andrew was born on February 19, 1960, and was the first child born to the Queen after her coronation in 1952. He celebrated his 61st birthday earlier in the month.
The Royal Family’s Twitter account posted a message to mark Prince Andrew’s birthday
The message included a throwback photo of a framed statement released by Buckingham Palace announcing that Queen Elizabeth had given birth to a baby boy.
“Queen Elizabeth was safely delivered of a son at 3:30 p.m. today. Her Majesty and the infant prince are both doing well,” the statement, dated February 19, 1960, reads.
The tweet also included a photo showing the royal family standing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The photo, taken in 1961, shows Queen Elizabeth holding Prince Andrew in one arm and waving with the other. She stands alongside her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, her daughter, Princess Anne, and the Queen Mother.
“#OnThisDay in 1960 The Queen was safely delivered of a son, the first child born to a reigning Monarch since 1857,” reads the photo caption. “Her Majesty is pictured holding Prince Andrew in 1961 on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, alongside The Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne and The Queen Mother.”
Royal watchers noticed that the statement did not include Prince Andrew’s royal titles
Royal watchers immediately noticed that the statement did not mention Prince Andrew’s royal titles, including His Royal Highness (HRH) and Duke of York.
Royal fans remarked that it was unusual and in stark contrast to the statement released on January 9 to mark the 39th birthday of Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.
They also noted that the restrained tone of the statement and its careful wording to seemingly avoid making a direct celebratory reference to Prince Andrew’s 61st birthday.
Royal watchers interpreted the tone of the statement as being taken due to the scandal that forced Prince Andrew to step down from his position as a working royal.
Twitter users reacted to the Royal Family tweet
Despite the guarded and restrained tone of the tweet, many Twitter users still berated the Royal Family for posting a message marking Prince Andrew’s birthday amid the controversy over his alleged association with Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire financier who died in New York prison in 2020 after being convicted of sex offences.
Some called on the Royal Family to delete the tweet.
Prince Andrew stepped down from his position as a working member of the royal family
Prince Andrew stepped down as a working royal following backlash over his alleged association with Jeffrey Epstein.
Monsters and Critics reported in July 2019 that a team of FBI and NYPD officers took Epstein into custody after federal prosecutors filed sex trafficking charges against him.
Later in the month, Epstein died after being found unresponsive in his cell. Media sources ascribed his superficial neck injuries to a “possible suicide attempt.”
An autopsy report released in August revealed that the former billionaire financier committed suicide by hanging himself in his Manhattan jail cell.
Prince Andrew apologized for his “ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein”
Prince Andrew sat for a BBC Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, shortly after Jefferey Epstein died in prison.
The interview sparked outrage in the U.K. and the rest of the world. Many slammed the royal for refusing to apologize or express regret about his association with Epstein.
Following the backlash, Prince Andrew released a statement, saying that he was “stepping back” from his position as a working member of the royal family.
He also stated that he regretted his “ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein.”