What was Prince Andrew’s military rank before returning his military affiliations?

Serving in Britain’s Royal Navy from 1978 to 2001, Prince Andrew was promoted to commander in 1999, two years before retiring from active service. Three years later, he was made an Honorary Captain. On his 50th birthday, in 2010, he was promoted to Rear Admiral. Five years later, he was promoted to Vice-Admiral – his final military rank. _x000D_

Why did Prince Andrew return his military affiliations?

_x000D_Prince Andrew has returned his military affiliations and royal patronages to Queen Elizabeth II on Jan. 13, 2022, after his lawyers failed to convince a U.S. judge to dismiss a civil sexual abuse lawsuit. By Jan. 19, the Duke of Cambridge had also deleted all of his social media accounts. Prince Andrew had a close relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of five federal sex trafficking charges in Dec. 2021.