UK: Prince Andrew gives up Duke of York title

Britain’s Prince Andrew announced on Friday that he would give up using his title of Duke of York after years of public criticism over his behaviour and his ties to the late U.S. sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III and second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, has faced mounting scrutiny in recent years, largely due to his association with Epstein.

Adding to the controversies, a court ruling last year revealed that the British government believed one of Andrew’s close business associates was a Chinese spy. The prince said at the time that he had cut all contact with the individual.

In a statement on Friday, Andrew said “the continued accusations about me” had become a distraction to his brother and the wider royal family.

“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,” he said.

“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use the title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”

His decision to relinquish the title reportedly followed discussions with senior members of the royal family. A royal source said the king was pleased with the outcome.

Andrew, 65, who is eighth in line to the throne, was once celebrated as a dashing naval officer and served during the Falklands War in the early 1980s. However, his public image began to decline after he stepped down as a UK trade ambassador in 2011.

According to Reuters, he later withdrew from royal duties in 2019 and was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages in 2022 amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has consistently denied.

That same year, Andrew settled a lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually abusing her as a teenager. Giuffre, who died in April, detailed her experiences in a memoir released recently, reigniting attention to the case.

In her book, she said “entitled” Andrew believed it was his birthright to have sex with her, according to extracts published by the Guardian newspaper.

“Things are simply not going away,” royal biographer Robert Hardman told BBC TV. “And I think the palace has decided, and Prince Andrew has agreed, that there really has to be a further separation.

“He wants to look as if he’s proactive and try and regain some dignity out of this.”