Prince Andrew has announced he is to give up his titles, including the Duke of York, in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre scandals.
His announcement came just hours after the King was reported to be considering stripping Andrew of a title amid the latest revelations about his friendship with convicted paedophile Epstein.
It also comes days before the publication of a memoir by trafficking victim Ms Giuffre, to whom Andrew paid millions to settle a civil case after she accused him of sexual assault.
On Friday evening Andrew said in a statement: “In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the 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.
"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."
He will remain a prince, having been born the son of Elizabeth II.
The King's brother will retain the dukedom, which can only be removed by an Act of Parliament but will choose not use it.
He will also give up his knighthood as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) and his Garter role as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
His former wife, Sarah Ferguson, will also no longer use her title of The Duchess of York, it is understood.
It is understood that the change will take effect immediately.
The King is glad of the outcome, it is understood, and the decision was taken in close consultation with His Majesty and other members of the Royal Family.
It comes after newspaper reports at the weekend that Andrew, who stepped back from royal duties nearly six years ago after his disastrous Newsnight interview over Ms Giuffre’s allegations, had lied about when he cut ties with disgraced paedophile Epstein.
Andrew told Epstein “we are in this together” the day after a damning picture was published of him with Ms Giuffre, a trafficking victim of Epstein, the reports at the weekend stated.
The Mail on Sunday reported that the email shows “definitive proof” that the Duke lied in his infamous BBC Newsnight interview, which he claimed he “never had any contact” with Epstein after the pair were snapped walking together in New York’s Central Park in 2010.
The email was sent 12 weeks after Andrew was said to have cut contact with Epstein, who was later found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Writing to Epstein on February 28, 2011 – the day after the picture of him alongside a teenage Ms Giuffre was published, Andrew wrote: “I'm just as concerned for you! Don't worry about me!
“It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it.
“Otherwise keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon!!!!”.
The email was reportedly signed off with “A, HRH The Duke of York, KG”. The KG is understood to refer to the Duke’s “Knight of the Garter” position.
Ms Giuffre, who died in Western Australia in April aged 41, was one of the most outspoken accusers of convicted sex offenders Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.
In 2022, she settled her lawsuit against Andrew for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was 17 after she was trafficked by Epstein.
He strongly denies the claim and ever meeting Ms Giuffre.
She accused Andrew of acting as though sex with her was his “birthright” in her posthumous memoir, extracts from which were published this week.
More damaging claims are expected to be in the book when it is published on October 21.
The Duke of York paid millions to settle the civil sexual assault case with Ms Giuffre who alleged the duke slept with her on three separate occasions.
The latest revelation comes weeks after an email to Epstein from Sarah, Duchess of York, showed her labelling him as her “supreme friend” as she apologised for disowning him in the media.
The surfacing of the email led the duchess to be dropped by a number of charities, of which she had been a patron, as her spokesman claimed the message was written because he had threatened to sue her for defamation.
The Times reported that the palace had reached “a tipping point” with the duke after his involvement in scandals involving Epstein and alleged spying by China.
A suspected Chinese spy became a “close confidante” of Andrew and was banned from the UK over national security fears that he could compromise the Royal.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman took the decision to bar businessman Yang Tengbo, who has close ties to the Chinese State, from the UK in March 2023.
Andrew struck up an “unusually” close relationship with the man and agreed to business dealings, at a time when he was under intense international pressure over his Epstein links.
Details of the spy allegations against Mr Yang - who denied all the claims - came to light in December.
While this week it was claimed the The Duke of York had also met the alleged “spymaster” at the heart of the collapsed Westminster China spy case that is engulfing the Government.
Prince Andrew was pictured shaking hands with the Beijing official Cai Qi and was reported to have met him “at least three times”.
How links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein led to Prince Andrew's downfall
Prince Andrew had long been under pressure over his association with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and his sex trafficker girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. Here is how that friendship led to the prince's disgrace and downfall
1990s
Andrew previously told BBC Newsnight he first met Epstein through "his girlfriend back in 1999".
In March 2011, the prince's then-private secretary Alastair Watson, who spent nine years in the role, wrote to The Times newspaper saying Andrew met Epstein in the "early 1990s".
Andrew later said he saw Epstein "infrequently", adding "probably no more than only once or twice a year".
During Maxwell's sex trafficking trial, jurors hear Andrew flew on Epstein's private plane with a 14-year-old girl in the mid 1990s.
2000
Andrew and Maxwell are seen on holiday with Epstein at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Epstein and Maxwell attend a party at Windsor Castle hosted by Queen Elizabeth II to mark Andrew's 40th birthday, the Princess Royal's 50th, the Queen Mother's 100th and Princess Margaret's 70th.
Flight records from May show him confirmed as a passenger on Epstein's private plane.
2001
Virginia Giuffre claims to have had sex with Andrew "three times, including one orgy", with the first encounter allegedly taking place in Maxwell's London townhouse.
Ms Giuffre also claimed to have had sex with Andrew at Epstein's New York flat and at an "orgy" on his private island Little St James in the Caribbean.
2008
Epstein admits prostituting minors and is sentenced to 18 months in prison.
2009
Epstein's former housekeeper Juan Alessi testifies that Andrew had "daily massages" at the paedophile's Florida home.
2010
Epstein is released from jail. Andrew is photographed with Epstein in New York's Central Park.
Footage emerges years later, reportedly shot on December 6 2010, showing him inside Epstein's Manhattan mansion, from where he is seen looking out from a large door of the property waving a woman goodbye after Epstein leaves to get into a chauffeur-driven car.
2011
Andrew quits his role as UK trade envoy after the fallout from the Central Park photos.
In February, he tells Epstein "we are in this together" despite later claiming he broke off all contact with the paedophile in December 2010.
Ms Giuffre reportedly hands the photograph of her with Andrew to the FBI.
2015
Buckingham Palace denies Andrew has committed any impropriety after he is named in US court documents related to Epstein.
A woman, later named in reports as Ms Giuffre, alleges in papers filed in Florida that she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, which is under the age of consent in the state.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Andrew, in his first public engagement since he was embroiled in the allegations, responds by saying: "I just wish to reiterate, and to reaffirm, the statements that have already been made on my behalf by Buckingham Palace."
In January, Andrew is reported to have sent an email to Maxwell asking for help in dealing with Ms Giuffre.
2016
As part of her civil suit against Maxwell, Ms Giuffre testifies that Epstein paid her 15,000 dollars (£11,180)to have sex with Andrew.
Ms Giuffre also testified about a sexual encounter with Andrew in the bath of Maxwell's home in 2001, saying: "He was adorning my young body, particularly my feet, caressing my toes and licking my arches."
2019
Newly released legal documents show that Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged Epstein victim, claimed Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire's Manhattan apartment in 2001.
Buckingham Palace said the allegations are "categorically untrue".
Epstein is found dead in his jail cell on August 10, having killed himself after being charged with sex trafficking.
Later that month, a pilot on Epstein's private jet, David Rodgers, claims Andrew was a passenger on past flights with the financier and Ms Giuffre.
Mr Rodgers said in a testimony released in August that Epstein, Andrew and the-then 17-year-old travelled to the US Virgin Islands on April 11 2001.
Buckingham Palace describes the evidence statement as having "a number of inconsistencies" and said that Andrew was on a different continent in some cases.
Following Epstein's death, a statement from the palace says that Andrew is "appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes".
Breaking his silence on the issue for the first time since 2015, Andrew then releases a statement on August 24 saying: "At no stage during the limited time I spent with him (Epstein) did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction."
In November, BBC Newsnight reveals Andrew has spoken about his relationship with Epstein in a "no holds barred" interview.
In the interview Andrew said he had "no recollection" of ever meeting Ms Giuffre and added he could not have had sex with her in March 2001 because he was at Pizza Express with his daughter Beatrice on the day in question.
He added he "did not regret" his friendship with the sex offender but admitted he should not have gone to see him in New York in 2010 to break off their friendship.
The television sit-down was widely criticised and dubbed a "car crash", with commentators questioning Andrew's responses and condemning his unsympathetic tone for victims and seeming lack of remorse over the friendship.
Four days after the interview, the then Duke of York released a statement confirming he was "stepping back from public duties for the foreseeable future" with permission from Queen Elizabeth II.
Andrew also said he "deeply sympathised" with all of Epstein's victims and added he was "willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required".
In December, Ms Giuffre implores the British public to "stand up beside me to help me fight this fight" and "not accept this as being OK", in clips released ahead of a BBC Panorama interview.
2020
In January, a US prosecutor claims Andrew has "provided zero co-operation" over the Epstein sex trafficking inquiry.
Speaking at a news conference outside Epstein's New York mansion, US attorney Geoffrey Berman said Andrew's lawyers had been contacted by prosecutors and the FBI who requested to interview him as part of the investigation.
Ms Giuffre, writing on social media a few days later, urges Andrew to "do the right thing" and talk to FBI investigators.
In June, Andrew's lawyers said he offered to assist the US department of justice "on at least three occasions this year" in its investigation into Epstein.
Just a few hours later, prosecutor Mr Berman - who was leading the investigation into Epstein at the time - said Andrew had "yet again sought to falsely portray himself to the public as eager and willing to co-operate" although he "has repeatedly declined" requests to schedule an interview.
Speaking in a documentary, Ms Giuffre claims Andrew played a "guessing game" about her age and compared her with his daughters during the alleged March 2001 encounter at Maxwell's home.
A former Epstein employee tells a Netflix documentary he saw Andrew frolicking with a topless Ms Giuffre in a pool on the paedophile's island.
2021
In August, Ms Giuffre starts legal action against Andrew, saying it was "past the time for him to be held to account" for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager.
Lawyers for Ms Giuffre filed a civil suit seeking unspecified damages at a federal court in New York, where documents claim she was "lent out for sexual purposes" by Epstein, including while she was still a minor under US law.
Andrew is named as the only defendant in the 15-page suit, brought under New York state's Child Victims Act, though Epstein and Maxwell are mentioned frequently throughout.
In December, Maxwell is convicted in a New York court of helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.
2022
In January, a US judge rules the civil case against Andrew can go ahead, in what is a huge blow for the royal whose lawyer had argued that it should be thrown out.
Andrew's status as a member of the royal family is left in tatters after Queen Elizabeth II strips him of his honorary military roles and he gives up his HRH style in a dramatic fallout from his civil sex case.
He is also stripped of his remaining royal patronages.
The development came after more than 150 veterans joined forces to express their outrage, writing to the late Queen to demand the removal of the honorary military positions.
Buckingham Palace says in a statement that Andrew "will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen".
In February, court documents show Andrew and Ms Giuffre have reached a "settlement in principle" in the civil sex claim.
The documents show Andrew will make a "substantial donation to Ms Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights", and has pledged to "demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein" by supporting the "fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims".
Commentators say that while he "at last" appears to have got the tone and language right, it is unlikely he will ever return to public royal life, with one branding him "reputationally toast".
Calls are renewed for him to lose his dukedom after he pays millions of pounds to a woman he claims never to have met.
2024
Allegations against Andrew resurface in unsealed documents as part of Ms Giuffre's civil claim against Maxwell - with claims such as him being involved in sex tapes, as well as resurfaced allegations of his participation in an underage orgy.
2025
Ms Giuffre dies aged 41 in April.
Buckingham Palace announces Andrew will stop using his titles and honours, including the Duke of York.
