Charles and William were 'instrumental' in ousting Prince Andrew from the royal family, report says

• Prince Andrew's royal fate was "widely discussed" in the family, the Daily Mail reported.
• Prince Charles and Prince William were "instrumental" in the talks to oust him, the report said.

Prince Charles and Prince William were "instrumental" in the decision to strip Prince Andrew of his royal patronages and military titles, a senior royal source told the Daily Mail and MailOnline.

Buckingham Palace on Thursday announced that the Duke of York had been stripped of his titles and patronages, and a palace source told Insider's Mikhaila Friel that he would no longer use the HRH title in any official capacity.

The move came days after a New York court denied Andrew's request to dismiss a sexual-assault lawsuit against him brought by the Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.

"The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen," the statement said.

The decision to effectively oust Andrew was "widely discussed" within his family even before the ruling, and Charles and William were "instrumental" in those talks, the Daily Mail reported, citing palace sources.

"This is about the survival of the institution at all costs. Always has been and always will be," the senior royal source told the outlet.

Prince Andrew's honorary military titles included colonel of the Grenadier Guards, honorary air commodore of RAF Lossiemouth, colonel in chief of the Royal Irish Regiment, and royal colonel of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, The Guardian reported.

The ousting came months after the Queen said she wanted Andrew to keep his military titles: In August, a senior military source told The Times of London that the Queen "let it be known to the regiment that she wants the Duke of York to remain as colonel."

For years, Giuffre has alleged that she was forced by Epstein to have sex with Andrew, and both Andrew and Buckingham Palace had repeatedly denied those claims. In August, Giuffre filed a lawsuit against Andrew accusing him of sexual assault.

She alleged that Epstein forced her to have sex with Andrew on three occasions: in his New York mansion, in London, and on Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands in 2001, when she was 17 years old.