Prince Andrew relinquishes his honor as the Duke.
He is surrendering his honors, among them the the Duke, he has declared in a own words.
He has been under mounting attention over his associations with sex offender the financier, with demands for the Palace to take measures against him.
That now appears to have caused the royal deciding to of his own accord give up his honors and to surrender participation of the Order of the Garter.
In his statement he said he continued to "strongly refute the claims against me".
"In talks with the monarch, and my direct and extended family, we have concluded the continued claims about me distract from the responsibilities of the monarch and the royal household," said a message from the royal.
"I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my relatives and land first.
"I uphold my choice five years ago to withdraw from public life.
"With the King's agreement, we think I must now go a additional measure. I will therefore no longer hold my honor or the honours which have been granted to me. As I have said previously, I firmly dispute the accusations against me."
The royal has faced a range of scandals, including a lawsuit he ended with the plaintiff, inquiries about his finances and his connection with an alleged Chinese spy.
He will continue to be a member of royalty - but will stop to be the Duke of York, a title granted from his the late Queen, the late Queen Elizabeth.
Andrew had already stopped to be a "active member" and had lost the use of his royal style and no longer participated at state occasions. His position now will be even more lessened.
His former spouse will be known as Sarah Ferguson and no longer the Duchess, but their daughters will carry on to have the honor of royal princess.
The royal has faced strong scrutiny over his links with notorious figure Epstein, more in recent times including questions about when he had actually cut off communication.
In his television appearance, the royal had said that he had cut off all ties with the financier after they had been seen together in New York in December 2010.
But messages sent in February 2011 later came to light suggesting that he had in private remained in contact with the financier, such as sending a message: "Remain connected and we'll have further interactions soon!"
There had been growing frustration in Buckingham Palace at the scandals that continued to plague the figure.
Next week a book released after death by Giuffre will be released which is anticipated to cast further scrutiny on Prince Andrew's association with the plaintiff and Epstein.
