With the announcement that he will stop using his titles or honours, Prince Andrew’s slow retreat from public life is essentially complete. But as politicians and journalists have pointed out, the disgraced royal deciding not to use his titles is some distance from actually having them revoked, as a small group of MPs are now calling for. Andrew technically remains the Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh and, of course, a prince.
Craig Prescott is an expert on the constitutional role of the monarchy, and has been writing about these issues in The Conversation since 2022, when the late queen took away Andrew’s military titles and patronages. Prescott now explains the complex parliamentary procedures that would actually be required to strip Andrew of his dukedom.
In other “royals losing their shine” news, the Louvre was robbed in broad daylight on Sunday, with thieves making off with priceless items of royal jewellery and regalia. Read up on a short history of the stolen jewels here.
And as ChatGPT effectively becomes ChatXXX with the launch of an erotic feature, we explore the legal and practical pitfalls of adults-only AI-generated content.
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Avery Anapol
Commissioning Editor, Politics + Society
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Prince Andrew at the coronation of his brother, King Charles III.
Andy Rain/EPA-EFE
Craig Prescott, Royal Holloway, University of London
The law is not designed to easily allow someone to become an ex-royal.
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Empress Eugenie’s tiara was among the looted goods.
Danita Delimont/Alamy
Laura O'Brien, Northumbria University, Newcastle
Much of the immediate reaction to the audacious theft has concentrated on the Louvre’s security problems, rather than on the jewels themselves.
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shutterstock.
sakkmesterke/Shutterstock
Simon Thorne, Cardiff Metropolitan University
OpenAI says its new erotic mode will be restricted to adults But with millions of teenagers already chatting to AI, how enforceable is that promise really?
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World
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Marc Roscoe Loustau, Central European University
The now-cancelled Budapest summit would have been, above all, a boon for Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán.
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Politics + Society
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Lisa Lazard, The Open University
Research shows the swearing, shouting and enforced muting suggests deeper problems at the Reform-led council.
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Léonie de Jonge, University of Tübingen; Esmee Bakker, University of Tübingen
Prime Minister Dick Schoof called fresh elections following the first collapse of his government, which would go on to fall a second time within a few months.
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Arts + Culture
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Mike Duggan, King's College London
This fascinating show offers visitors a deeper sense of Le Guin’s maps as world-making and storytelling devices.
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John Flint, University of Sheffield
Housing for the elderly that fosters community, accessibility and care.
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Christina Morin, University of Limerick
These stories have to be read aloud to scare friends or read under the covers with a flashlight.
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Business + Economy
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Pietro Micheli, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
Chinese cars are in the fast lane.
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Environment
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Elliot Honeybun-Arnolda, University of East Anglia
A new version of Minecraft gives players the chance to make decisions about tackling coastal erosion in scenarios based on Bude in Cornwall.
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Paul Palmer, University of Edinburgh; Liang Feng, University of Edinburgh
The US is set to shut down a crucial satellite that monitors how much carbon is in the atmosphere.
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Health
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Anna Murray, University of Exeter
A new study has shown the ovary’s tissues and cells play a bigger role than previously thought in how fertility wanes.
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Adam Taylor, Lancaster University
The trendy Taiwanese drink has become a high-street staple, but recent findings on lead levels and choking risks suggest it warrants closer scrutiny.
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