Prince Andrew gives up Royal titles in wake of Epstein scandal: "Accusations about me distract from the King's work"
Prince Andrew has stopped using his remaining titles and honours, including the Duke of York, in the wake of the Epstein scandal, he has announced.
The latest development in the long-running controversy comes just days before the publication of a memoir by Andrew’s late alleged victim, Virginia Giuffre, to whom he paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case.
In a statement released by Buckingham Palace, Andrew said that in discussion with the King and his immediate and wider family, they decided “the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the royal family”.
Both the King and the Prince of Wales were consulted, with Charles said to be glad of the outcome amid hopes the decision will draw a line under a debacle, with Andrew’s banishment from royal life appearing complete.
Andrew will however remain a prince, which he has been entitled to since birth, and the change will not affect his daughters who will remain Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Sarah, Duchess of York, who split from the duke more than 30 years ago but remained one of his greatest supporters and still shares his Royal Lodge home, will revert to her maiden name Sarah Ferguson.
The prince added: “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.”
The King’s brother will retain the dukedom, which can only be removed by an Act of Parliament, but he will not use the title.
He will also give up his knighthood as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and his Garter role as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. The honours will both remain in existence but will not be used.
He will no longer use the other titles given to him on his wedding day, the Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh.
Andrew stepped down from public life six years ago in 2019 after a disastrous Newsnight interview in which he said he “did not regret” his friendship with paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who had trafficked Ms Giuffre. He was heavily criticised for failing to show sympathy with the sex offender’s victims.
He later paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Ms Giuffre, a woman he claimed never to have met.
Ms Giuffre alleged she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions, including when she was 17 in London and had been trafficked by Epstein; in New York, and on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands during an orgy when she was around 18.
The prince has insisted he has no memory of a well-known photograph of him with his arm around Ms Giuffre’s waist.
Ms Giuffre’s memoir, which she was working on at the time of her death in April, is due to be published next week. In it, she claims Andrew acted as if sex with her was his “birthright”.