🔗 Share this article

Prince Andrew is relinquishing his designations, among them the the Duke, he has announced in a own words.

He has been under increasing scrutiny over his connections with disgraced financier the financier, with calls for the Palace to take steps against him.

That now seems to have caused the royal deciding to voluntarily hand back his titles and to give up involvement of the Order of the Garter.

In his message he said he continued to "strongly refute the allegations against me".

"In consultation with the sovereign, and my close and wider family, we have concluded the persistent claims about me take away from the duties of the King and the Royal Family," said a announcement from the royal.

"I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my kin and nation first.

"I stand by my resolution five years ago to withdraw from official duties.

"With the King's consent, we think I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer employ my title or the awards which have been granted to me. As I have said earlier, I firmly refute the claims against me."

He has encountered a number of issues, among them a lawsuit he resolved with the plaintiff, inquiries about his finances and his involvement with an accused intelligence operative.

He will remain a royal - but will stop to be the the Duke, a title bestowed from his the late Queen, the Queen Elizabeth II.

Andrew had already stopped to be a "participating figure" and had lost the use of his HRH title and no longer participated at official royal events. His status now will be even more lessened.

His former spouse will be known as Sarah Ferguson and no longer Duchess of York, but their daughters will continue to have the honor of princess.

He has been under intense scrutiny over his associations with convicted sex offender the financier, more recently involving inquiries about when he had actually severed communication.

In his media discussion, the royal had said that he had ended all connections with Jeffrey Epstein after they had been seen together in New York in December 2010.

But messages sent in early 2011 later surfaced implying that Andrew had confidentially remained in contact with the financier, for example exchanging a message: "Remain connected and we'll meet again soon!"

There had been growing frustration in the royal household at the controversies that persisted to surround the figure.

Soon a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre will be released which is likely to draw more attention on Prince Andrew's involvement with the plaintiff and the financier.