Prince Andrew has relinquished his royal title.
"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," a statement released by the royal, and obtained by Fox News Digital, read. "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," the statement continued. "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."
While he will no longer be referred to as the Duke of York, Prince Andrew will remain a prince as he is the son of the late Queen Elizabeth. His Royal Highness title has been inactive since 2019. Prince William was consulted when making the decision and the titles of Prince Andrew's daughters remain unaffected.
PRINCE ANDREW VIEWED SEX WITH TEENAGE VIRGINIA GIUFFRE AS HIS ‘BIRTHRIGHT,' NEW MEMOIR CLAIMS
Prince Andrew's decision comes as excerpts have been published from an upcoming posthumous memoir from Virginia Giuffre, who has alleged she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and had sex with Andrew when she was 17.
Giuffre claimed she had sex with Prince Andrew three times in the memoir titled "Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice."
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She recalled Epstein's right-hand lady Ghislaine Maxwell telling her to do what she did for the financier to the prince after dinner.
"Back at the house, Maxwell and Epstein said goodnight and headed upstairs, signaling it was time that I take care of the prince," she wrote, according to an excerpt published by The Guardian. "In the years since, I’ve thought a lot about how he behaved. He was friendly enough, but still entitled – as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright."
"I drew him a hot bath," she continued. "We disrobed and got in the tub, but didn’t stay there long because the prince was eager to get to the bed. He was particularly attentive to my feet, caressing my toes and licking my arches. That was a first for me, and it tickled. I was nervous he would want me to do the same to him. But I needn’t have worried. He seemed in a rush to have intercourse. Afterward, he said thank you in his clipped British accent. In my memory, the whole thing lasted less than half an hour."
"The next morning, Maxwell told me: ‘You did well. The prince had fun.’ Epstein would give me $15,000 for servicing the man the tabloids called ‘Randy Andy.’"
Giuffre's family released a statement following the news, telling Fox News Digital: "We, the family of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, believe that Prince Andrew’s decision to give up his titles is vindication for our sister and survivors everywhere. This decisive action is a powerful step forward in our fight to bring Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s child sex-trafficking network to justice. Further, we believe it is appropriate for King Charles to remove the title of Prince."
"This moment serves as victory for Virginia, who consistently maintained, ‘He knows what happened, I know what happened, and there’s only one of us telling the truth, and I know that’s me.’ This is not just a victory for her, but for every single survivor of the horrific crimes perpetrated by Epstein and his co-conspirators."
Giuffre's family pointed to alleged emails that recently surfaced between Epstein and Prince Andrew from 2011, contradicting the royal's claim he ceased contact with the multi-millionaire in 2010.
"We hope that the days of impunity for the powerful are over, and protection for predators will no longer be tolerated," the statement concluded. "We hope a higher standard has been set for our leaders in office in the United States – one we will work tirelessly to follow here. It is time for accountability, transparency, and justice for all survivors."
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Prince Andrew's association with Epstein has long plagued the royal family. Andrew announced he was stepping back from his royal role after participating in an interview with the BBC in 2019.
Prince Andrew spoke about his friendship with Epstein at the time, admitting, "I stayed with him and that’s [something] I kick myself for on a daily basis because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family, and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and I let the side down, simple as that."
Elsewhere in the interview, the second son of the late queen said he did not regret his friendship with Epstein because of the people he met and all the things he learned, another statement for which he was chastised by the media.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 after he was charged with federal sex trafficking and conspiracy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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