Prince Andrew gives up his royal title as controversy swirls around his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

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Prince Andrew gave up his royal titles following discussions with his family.
The prince has been subject to scrutiny for his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Court documents and British media have also raised questions about his contact with an alleged spy.

He's still a prince, but that's about it.

Prince Andrew announced Friday that he has given up all of his "titles and honours" after discussing it with his older brother King Charles of England and other members of the royal family.

"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," Prince Andrew said in a statement.

The decision comes amid ongoing scrutiny into the British royal family member's relationship with the now-dead pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, as well as court documents and reports in the British media raising questions about his interactions with an alleged Chinese spy.

"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," Prince Andrew's statement said. "As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me."

As the son of the monarch, Prince Andrew will continue to use the title "prince," but he will no longer be known as the Duke of York.

In lawsuits and depositions, several of Epstein's accusers have accused Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, which he has denied.

Prince Andrew previously lost some of his royal titles in early 2022, after he was sued by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexual assault.

According to Giuffre's lawsuit, Prince Andrew, Epstein, and Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell forced her to have sexual intercourse with the prince in Maxwell's London home, Epstein's New York mansion, and Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands.

Prince Andrew settled the lawsuit in March of 2022 without admitting wrongdoing. He said he regrets his association with Epstein.

A memoir by Giuffre, who died earlier this year, is scheduled to be released on Tuesday.

The prince has also come under scrutiny for his relationship with Yang Tengbo, a Chinese businessman who UK authorities banned from entering the country, believing he was a spy. According to British court documents made public following Yang's legal challenge to the ban, Yang recruited Prince Andrew for a project that would connect Chinese and UK-based businesses.

Prince Andrew's relationship with Epstein has come under renewed scrutiny as pressure mounts for President Donald Trump to release the government's files about Jeffrey Epstein, as members of his administration previously said they would do.

Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving a 25-year prison sentence for trafficking girls to Epstein for sex.