”After discussions with the king and my closest family, we have come to the conclusion that the continued accusations against me distract His Majesty and the royal family's work”, reads part of the statement according to BBC.
The prince withdrew from his public assignments as early as 2019 due to his friendship with the already deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
”With His Majesty's consent, I believe I must now take a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honors that have been awarded to me”, he continues.
New scandal storm
His connections to Epstein have been brought up again and the criticism storm has blown up. Among other things, it's about the prince allegedly having cut ties with Epstein later than he previously claimed.
In August, a biography – Andrew Lownie's book ”Entitled: The rise and fall of the house of York” – was released, which was described as ”ruthless”.
The book portrays the prince as arrogant, mean to staff, selfish and sex-obsessed but often alone and isolated. It also deals with Andrew's and Epstein's relationship, which is central to the trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre's later accusations against the prince of sexual abuse when she was 17 years old – something he has consistently denied.
The message comes even before Virginia Giuffre's memoirs are to be published, six months after her death.
Denies all allegations
Additionally, Andrew has been relatively recently accused of having had close contact with a man suspected of being a Chinese spy.
In his statement, he denies all allegations against him.
The title ”Duke of York” has been held by several English princes since the 15th century – often by the second son of the reigning monarch. Formally, Andrew will still be a prince, as the son of Queen Elizabeth, according to British media.
He will also have to leave the UK's highest order, the Order of the Garter.
According to BBC, it is also confirmed that he will not be celebrating Christmas with the royal family. On the other hand, he is expected to remain living in his home in Windsor.
