It was announced one month ago that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the man we once all knew as Prince Andrew, would be stripped of his royal titles because of his associations with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

It marked an incredible fall from grace, but is that truly the end of the controversy that has cast

a long shadow on the palace? And what might Andrew's troubles mean for President Donald Trump?

Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm Wendy Noggle, USA Today Executive Editor

of Entertainment. Today is Friday, December 5, 2025. As part of King Charles' shocking announcement, Andrew will lose his plush housing at the Royal Lodge.

On December 1st, the King instructed Andrew's prestigious Order of the Guarder and Royal Victorian Order Honors to be canceled and annulled, his name erased from the register. But does this erase

the stain on the royal family? And can the British monarchy finally move forward with a clean slate?

Here to help us unpack all of this is Andrew Lowney, a historian and expert on the royal family,

and the author most recently of entitled The Rise and Fall of the House of

York. Andrew, thanks so much for joining me today here in the USA Today Studio. I wanted to start with

where we are right now. The Epstein Files Transparency Act was passed and it will force the DOJ to

release documents in this case by December 19th.

What do you expect might be revealed in those documents about the former prince?

Well, we don't know. I mean, I understand there is a lot of material on him.

I think there's a danger that a lot of material won't be released.

The line will be that there's a continuing investigation

and these files are needed to be used in that investigation. I mean, you've already seen

quite a few revelations as a result of what's in there, particularly the length of his

association with Epstein, the fact that it went on much longer than he claimed. But who knows?

I mean, I think this is, we don't know what we don't

know. I think we have to be slightly cautious about him leaving Royal Lodge. He's not going to leave

for about a year. He's been given a year to get out. He's basically digging his heels in to

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