LONDON (AP) — Prince Andrew stated Friday he’s giving up his royal title of the Duke of York and different honors after his friendship with intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein returned to the headlines.
The youthful brother of King Charles III stated he and the royal household had determined “the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the royal household,” Prince Andrew stated in an announcement launched by Buckingham Palace.
It comes as excerpts have been revealed of an upcoming posthumous memoir from Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and had intercourse with Andrew when she was 17.
Andrew, 65, stepped down from public life in 2019, however denied wrongdoing.
In an announcement Friday he stated: “With His Majesty’s settlement, we really feel I have to now go a step additional. I’ll due to this fact now not use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I’ve stated beforehand, I vigorously deny the accusations in opposition to me.”
Giuffre died by suicide in April on the age of 41. Within the memoir she particulars alleged encounters with Prince Andrew, who she sued in 2021, claiming that they’d intercourse when she was 17. Andrew denied her claims and stated he didn’t recall having met her.
Andrew, as soon as second in line to the British throne, has lengthy been a supply of tabloid fodder due to his hyperlinks to Epstein, different questionable characters and cash woes.
His try to refute Giuffre’s allegations backfired throughout a November 2019 BBC interview. Viewers noticed a prince who proffered curious rebuttals — akin to disputing Giuffre’s recollection of sweaty dancing by saying he was medically incapable of perspiring — and confirmed no empathy for the ladies who stated Epstein abused them.
Inside days of the interview, Andrew stepped down from his royal duties. Giuffre sued him and the case was settled in 2022 for an undisclosed sum. A press release filed in courtroom stated that the prince acknowledged Epstein was a intercourse trafficker and Giuffre was “a longtime sufferer of abuse.”
In addition to now not being generally known as the Duke of York, Andrew may also hand over different titles: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
He’ll stay a prince, which he has been entitled to since start.
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