🔗 Share this article

He is relinquishing his honors, including the York's Duke, he has declared in a personal statement.

He has been under growing scrutiny over his links with convicted criminal the financier, with demands for the royal household to take action against him.

That now seems to have caused the figure deciding to of his own accord return his honors and to relinquish membership of the Order of the Garter.

In his announcement he said he continued to "firmly deny the claims against me".

"In consultation with the King, and my immediate and extended family, we have decided the persistent accusations about me divert from the duties of His Majesty and the monarchy," said a announcement from him.

"I have chosen, as I always have, to put my obligation to my family and land first.

"I uphold my choice five years ago to withdraw from royal engagements.

"With the monarch's agreement, we think I must now go a further step. I will therefore no longer employ my title or the distinctions which have been granted to me. As I have said earlier, I vigorously deny the allegations against me."

He has encountered a range of issues, among them a legal case he resolved with the plaintiff, doubts about his money matters and his involvement with an alleged intelligence operative.

He will stay a prince - but will stop to be the the Duke, a honor received from his the late Queen, the former monarch.

The prince had already ended to be a "active member" and had lost the use of his HRH title and no longer was seen at public engagements. His status now will be even more lessened.

His previous partner will be known as Ferguson and no longer Duchess of York, but their daughters will persist to have the honor of royal princess.

Prince Andrew has been under severe attention over his associations with convicted sex offender the financier, more lately including inquiries about when he had truly severed contact.

In his BBC Newsnight interview, the royal had said that he had severed all connections with Jeffrey Epstein after they had been pictured together in NYC in the end of 2010.

But emails sent in early 2011 later surfaced suggesting that the prince had privately remained in contact with him, for example sending a communication: "Stay in contact and we'll play some more soon!"

There had been increasing displeasure in the royal household at the scandals that continued to surround the prince.

In the coming days a late publication by Giuffre will be released which is likely to draw additional focus on the royal's connection with the plaintiff and Epstein.