THE media is awash with calls for Prince Andrew to be stripped of, or to relinquish, every remaining title or vestige of distinction ("Duke in ‘£7.5m’ deal to settle sex case", The Herald, February 16), consigning him to the great unwashed, among whom his conduct would presumably be regarded as normal and unremarkable.

This would facilitate perpetuation of the illusion that members of the titled classes are morally and socially superior to the rest of us.

No thank you.

Let him keep his titles and do not disguise or obscure the undeniable truth, well supported by history, that disreputable characters are no less likely to be found among nobility and royalty than among the untitled masses which I am proud to belong to.

Willie Maclean, Milngavie.

ROYALS CAN NOW REBUILD

PRINCE Andrew has finally thrown in the towel and settled out of court, which rescues his mother's celebrations in her Platinum Jubilee from all the unsavoury revelations which could well have emerged from the court proceedings he claimed to be ready to face. Perhaps he could now devote himself to doing unsung charity work behind the scenes to atone for his errors of judgment while the task of restoring the somewhat tarnished reputation of the monarchy is left to Charles and Camilla along with William and Kate.

No doubt after all this adverse publicity the royal family needs a boost to cement its standing in the eyes of the nation and to maintain its position of providing our head of state in keeping with the honourable tradition which brings pageantry and colour with its benefits to our nation's tourist income.

If the Queen now chose to abdicate at the conclusion of her Platinum Jubilee year, the door would be open to a fresh wave of what would assuredly be positive and good publicity to wash away the stain which has been haunting the institution of the monarchy for some years now.

And Her Majesty, who has faithfully observed her duty to the country, could enjoy her well-deserved retirement, knowing that no one will ever be able to match her record as the longest-ever serving monarch.

Denis Bruce, Bishopbriggs.

* I AM pleased Prince Andrew's lawyers have agreed a pay-off over the civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre. If it had gone to trial he would have been torn apart by the forensic lawyers.

This leaves his mother to enjoy her platinum year and all the tributes she deserves.

Dennis Forbes Grattan, Aberdeen.

RENEWABLES NOT THE ANSWER

THERE are certain points in John Palfreyman's letter (February 16) which need to be challenged. Wind and solar are not the answer to our energy crisis since the 8,366 wind turbines in Scotland have only managed to produce 18.9 per cent of the UK's electricity needs for the last 12 months, whereas gas supplied 41.7%.

Mr Palfreyman suggests that climate change is causing the serious storms we are experiencing. This is not so. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has repeatedly stated in its annual reports that it has low confidence that global warming has had any impact on the frequency or severity of floods, that hurricanes, tornadoes and tropical storms show a decreasing trend and that droughts are less severe.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow.

RECALLING AMERICA'S GENEROSITY

IAN Houston's article ("Don’t believe the cynics, there are lots of good people out there", The Herald, February 15) brought back distant memories. When I was in my teens I remember asking my mother about something I'd remembered from when I was a toddler.

I was in a hall, not a shop, there were trestle tables piled with clothes and we went from table to table as she selected from each.

Where was it, and what was it? I didn't remember her actually paying the ladies at the tables. She told me that it was in Dumbarton Burgh Hall. The clothes had been donated by the American Red Cross to help clothe those who had lost everything in the Blitz.

She said we were told that they were second-hand items, but that she distinctly remembered cutting off the price tags on many of them so they must have been brand new.

This was the American public at its best, not the government; it was still sitting on the fence at that time.

George Smith, Clydebank.

ST KILDA? IT'S NOT SO FAR

AN excellent piece on the "aristocrat's prison" ("Storm reveals fascinating site of aristocrat’s ‘prison’ on St Kilda", The Herald, February 16) is slightly spoiled by the assertion that St Kilda is "more than 100 miles from the Outer Hebrides". I cannot believe that my eyesight was that good as, several years ago, from the St Kilda viewpoint just below the military listening post on North Uist, St Kilda and several of the sea stacks around it were clearly visible. I believe that the archipelago is around 40 miles from that point on North Uist.

Alastair J Douglas, Erskine.

AN UNCOMMON FANFARE

ANENT the theme of Ronald H Oliver's letter on gender-neutral terms (February 16), Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Person would have an untrue ring about it.

Citizen or Comrade David Miller, Milngavie.

* ON the basis that “we’re a’ Jock Tamson’s bairns” I’m rather taken with Ronald H Oliver’s suggestion that it might be an idea to revert to some post-revolutionary gender-neutral terms for everyone.

Of course, those of us deemed worthy of recognition over and above Tom, Dick, and Harriet, would be elevated to Comrade Citizen (CC), which would address having so far missed out on the New Year Honours List.

R Russell Smith, Largs.

DRINK DOON THE WATTER

YOU report that the Clyde has the highest concentration of assorted pharmaceuticals of any river in the world ("River Clyde has highest level of drug contamination in UK", The Herald, February 16).

I'll bet that by Saturday, there will be a wee man doon the Barras selling bottles of it as the elixir of life.

David Hay, Minard.

Read more: Back to business as usual for the royals? Don't bet on it