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He is giving up his designations, among them the Duke of York, he has announced in a own words.

He has been under increasing scrutiny over his connections with sex offender the financier, with demands for the Palace to take measures against him.

That now seems to have led to the prince deciding to voluntarily hand back his designations and to relinquish involvement of the Garter Order.

In his statement he said he continued to "strongly dispute the accusations against me".

"In consultation with the King, and my direct and extended family, we have decided the ongoing accusations about me divert from the work of the King and the royal household," said a statement from him.

"I have chosen, as I always have, to put my responsibility to my relatives and nation first.

"I uphold my choice five years ago to stand back from royal engagements.

"With the monarch's approval, we think I must now go a further step. I will therefore no longer use my designation or the awards which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I strongly dispute the accusations against me."

Prince Andrew has faced a series of controversies, among them a court case he ended with the plaintiff, doubts about his finances and his involvement with an alleged intelligence operative.

He will stay a prince - but will cease to be the Duke of York, a title received from his the late Queen, the late Queen Elizabeth.

Andrew had already ceased to be a "active member" and had given up the use of his HRH title and no longer appeared at official royal events. His role now will be even more diminished.

His former spouse will be known as Sarah and no longer Duchess of York, but their daughters will carry on to have the honor of princesses.

Prince Andrew has encountered strong scrutiny over his associations with notorious figure Epstein, more in recent times featuring inquiries about when he had truly cut off contact.

In his television appearance, Prince Andrew had said that he had severed all connections with the financier after they had been seen together in the city in the end of 2010.

But correspondence sent in the following year later surfaced indicating that the prince had confidentially stayed in communication with the financier, for example exchanging a note: "Remain connected and we'll play some more soon!"

There had been growing annoyance in the royal household at the controversies that continued to surround the prince.

Soon a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre will be published which is likely to draw additional attention on the royal's connection with the plaintiff and Jeffrey Epstein.