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LONDON, U.K.: Prince Andrew announced this week that he is giving up his royal title, the Duke of York, and other honors. The move follows renewed attention on his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III, said in a statement from Buckingham Palace that ongoing accusations against him were a distraction from the royal family’s work.

“With His Majesty’s agreement, I feel I must go further,” he said. “I will no longer use my title or the honors given to me. As I have said before, I strongly deny the accusations.”

This marks another major setback for the 65-year-old prince, who stepped down from public life in 2019 because of his ties to Epstein, even though he has denied any wrongdoing.

The announcement came after excerpts were released from an upcoming memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein of trafficking her and claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17. London’s Metropolitan Police however examined Guiffre’s allegations on 3 occasions, and concluded there was no basis to open an investigation, citing a lack of evidence. The memoir, to be published Tuesday, was written before her death by suicide in April at age 41.

In the book, Giuffre reportedly describes encounters with Andrew, whom she sued in 2021. Andrew denied her claims, saying he did not even remember meeting her.

Andrew, once second in line to the British throne, has often been the subject of tabloid stories because of his friendships, financial issues, and scandals. His 2019 BBC interview, meant to defend himself, made things worse. He denied Giuffre’s claims and said he could not have been “sweaty” while dancing with her because he was unable to sweat due to a medical condition — a remark that drew widespread ridicule.

Soon after that interview, Andrew gave up his royal duties. Giuffre’s lawsuit was settled in 2022 for an undisclosed amount, believed to have been in the order of millions of pounds. Court documents stated that Andrew acknowledged Epstein was a sex trafficker and that Giuffre was “an established victim of abuse.”

Now, Andrew will stop using the title Duke of York, which was given to him by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, when he married Sarah Ferguson in 1986. He will also give up his honors as Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and Royal Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter. However, he will remain a prince by birth.

His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will no longer use the title Duchess of York, though their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, keep their royal titles. Andrew and Ferguson remain close and live together at a large estate near Windsor Castle.

Ferguson has also faced scrutiny over her own ties to Epstein. Last month, several charities cut ties with her after reports of an email in which she called Epstein a “supreme friend.”

Andrew was once a celebrated royal, praised for flying missions as a Royal Navy helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands War. But over the years, he has been criticized for his lavish lifestyle and questionable associations.

After stepping back from royal duties, he lost his primary source of income. Recently, court documents revealed that his need for money led to contact with a suspected Chinese spy, businessman Tengbo Yang, who was banned from the U.K. in 2023.

A former aide, Dominic Hampshire, told a tribunal that he had arranged meetings between Andrew and Yang to help raise funds. Andrew has said he never discussed sensitive matters with Yang and cut ties as soon as he learned of the concerns.

Since the reports surfaced last December, Andrew has largely withdrawn from public life once again. A disturbing aspect of his circumstances is that his reign as the Duke of York has ended largely because that is who he is. Guiffre, of all those she claimed to have slept with or was trafficked to, she only, targeted one – Andrew. A member of the Royal Family. She sued in advance of the Queen’s Royal Jubilee and her lawyers applied pressure on the monarchy itself to squeeze out a settlement. It is understood Andrew wanted to fight the suit, however the Queen intervened, ordering a settlement to take the pressure off the monarcy. Scotland Yard when reviewing the case the last time, in October 2021,  even after interviewing Guiffree and studying the court papers of her lawsuit, did not deem there was evidence enough to even open an inquiry.