🔗 Share this article

The royal is relinquishing his titles, among them the York's Duke, he has announced in a own words.

He has been under mounting scrutiny over his connections with convicted criminal the financier, with demands for the monarchy to take steps against him.

That now appears to have caused the royal deciding to willingly return his titles and to relinquish membership of the Order of the Garter.

In his statement he said he continued to "firmly refute the claims against me".

"In consultation with the sovereign, and my close and wider family, we have agreed the continued allegations about me divert from the work of the monarch and the monarchy," said a statement from Prince Andrew.

"I have opted, as I always have, to put my obligation to my kin and country first.

"I uphold my decision five years ago to step back from royal engagements.

"With the King's approval, we think I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer employ my honor or the awards which have been granted to me. As I have said before, I strongly dispute the allegations against me."

The royal has faced a range of issues, such as a court case he resolved with an accuser, inquiries about his economic affairs and his association with an suspected Chinese spy.

He will stay a prince - but will stop to be the Duke of York, a designation received from his parent, the former monarch.

He had already ceased to be a "participating figure" and had lost the use of his HRH title and no longer appeared at official royal events. His role now will be even more diminished.

His ex-wife will be known as Ferguson and no longer Duchess of York, but their offspring will persist to have the title of princesses.

Prince Andrew has been under strong scrutiny over his connections with disgraced financier the financier, more lately involving doubts about when he had truly cut off communication.

In his television appearance, he had said that he had severed all connections with the financier after they had been pictured together in NYC in December 2010.

But messages sent in February 2011 later emerged implying that the prince had in private stayed in contact with the financier, such as swapping a note: "Stay in contact and we'll have further interactions soon!"

There had been growing frustration in Buckingham Palace at the issues that remained to surround the royal.

In the coming days a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre will be released which is expected to cast additional scrutiny on the royal's connection with Virginia Giuffre and Epstein.