A Canadian school will change its name to distance itself from Prince Andrew

Prince Andrew of England, in an image of August 11, in London. DPA via Europa Press (Europa Press)

Since its foundation in 1960, Prince Andrew Secondary School, located in Dartmouth (Canadian province of Nova Scotia), bears this name as a way of commemorating the birth that same year of the son of Queen Elizabeth II.

However, the authorities of the public campus - where 736 young people study - announced that the time has come to choose another name, thus marking distances with the Duke of York, accused in the United States of sexual abuse of Virginia Giuffre when the plaintiff was a minor.

The learning center will change its name before the next school year begins.

Craig Campbell, principal of the high school, sent an email to the families of the students on Wednesday informing them of the decision. “A school name should reflect our school community and uphold our values ​​as a safe and inclusive learning space for all,” he said. "Our desire is to continue building our identity as a positive, supportive and respectful community, with a name that is up to the task," he added.

The director pointed out that a committee – made up of students, professors and other employees – will be in charge of the process.

Every member of the community is invited to propose a new name.

After voting, the top three on the list will be evaluated by the Halifax Regional Education Commission, which will make a final decision.

Some students and teaching staff of the high school filed petitions to change the name since the end of 2019, when the Duke of York announced his retirement from public life due to the scandal caused by his relationship with businessman Jeffrey Epstein, accused of sexual abuse of minors. and died by suicide in his cell, and his girlfriend and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, found guilty at the end of December by an American jury.

However, the proposals did not prosper.

On January 13, Elizabeth II withdrew from Prince Andrew all military titles and royal patronage; a measure to prevent the trial in the United States from further embarrassing the monarchy. Three of the lost military titles were held in Canada, as honorary colonel-in-chief of two infantry regiments and one armored unit. Regarding the royal patronages, the Duke of York had six in the North American country; among them, with a group of war veterans, an educational foundation and a golf club. However, these institutions had already broken bridges with him since 2019.

The name of the high school, as well as the military titles and the royal patronages of Prince Andrew in Canada are explained by the deep ties between the country and the Crown.

The Canadian Confederation was created in 1867 with the British North America Act.

In 1982, Pierre Elliot Trudeau -father of the current prime minister- repatriated the Constitution, providing Canada with mechanisms to directly modify its Magna Carta.

Elizabeth II is the head of the Canadian State;

its official representation in the country falls to Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada.

The ties continue, but the third of the queen's offspring is fast disappearing from the postcard.

Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS América

and receive all the key information on current affairs in the region