Britain's Prince Andrew gives up title of Duke of York

London, Oct 17: Britain's Prince Andrew said on Friday he would give up using his title of Duke of York following years of criticism about his behaviour and connections to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The reputation of Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles and second son of the late Queen Elizabeth, has taken a battering in recent years, most notably because of his links to Epstein.

A court ruling last year also revealed that the British government believed one of his close business associates was a Chinese spy. Andrew at the time said he had stopped all contact with the businessman. 

 Andrew said "the continued accusations about me" distracted from the work of his elder brother King Charles and the wider work of the British 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," Andrew 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 give up his titles was taken following discussion with senior royals. The king was glad about the outcome, according to a royal source.

Andrew, 65, the eighth-in-line to the throne, was once regarded as a dashing naval officer and served in the military during the Falklands War with Argentina in the early 1980s.

But he was forced to step down from a roving UK trade ambassador role in 2011, before quitting all royal duties in 2019 and then was stripped of his military links and royal patronages in 2022 amid allegations of sexual misconduct which he has always denied.

That year, he settled a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who died in April, which accused him of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager. Andrew has always denied her account, which has returned to prominence in the last week with the release of her memoir.