Prince Andrew said Saturday he is giving up his royal title of the Duke of York after his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein returned to the headlines.
The younger brother of King Charles III said he and the royal family had decided “the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the royal family", Prince Andrew said in a statement released by Buckingham Palace.
Prince Andrew gives up royal titles after talk with King Charles - watch on TVNZ+
"I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.
"With His Majesty's agreement, we feel I must now go a step further.
"I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me."
It comes as excerpts have been published of an upcoming posthumous memoir from Virginia Giuffre, who has alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew when she was 17. Andrew denied her claims and the two settled the lawsuit in 2022.
Andrew, 65, stepped down from public life in 2019, but denied wrongdoing.
Giuffre died by suicide in April.
Andrew, once second in line to the British throne, has long been a source of tabloid fodder because of his links to Epstein, other questionable characters, and money woes.
His attempt to refute Giuffre’s allegations backfired during a November 2019 BBC interview. Viewers saw a prince who proffered curious rebuttals — such as disputing Giuffre’s recollection of sweaty dancing by saying he was medically incapable of perspiring — and showed no empathy for the women who said Epstein abused them.
Within days of the interview, Andrew stepped down from his royal duties. Giuffre sued him and the case was settled in 2022 for an undisclosed sum. A statement filed in court said that the prince acknowledged Epstein was a sex trafficker and Giuffre was “an established victim of abuse”.
As well as no longer being known as the Duke of York, Andrew will also give up other titles: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
He will remain a prince, which he has been entitled to since birth.
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