Britain’s Prince Andrew gives up royal title amid Epstein allegations | Sexual Assault News

Prince Andrew’s reputation has suffered in recent years, mainly due to his ties to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Britain’s Prince Andrew says he will give up using his title of Duke of York following years of criticism about his behaviour and connections to the late United States sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The reputation of Andrew, 65, 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.

But there have also been revelations that one of his close business associates was thought by the government to be a Chinese spy.

In a statement on Friday, 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 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,” Andrew added in his statement.

Andrew, 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 gained a reputation as a playboy prince, and in 2022, was stripped of most of his titles and removed from royal duties due to his connections to Epstein.

The announcement comes as excerpts have been published of an upcoming posthumous memoir from Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew when she was underage.

Giuffre died by suicide in April at the age of 41. In the memoir, she details alleged encounters with Prince Andrew, whom she sued in 2021, claiming that they had sex when she was 17. Andrew denied her claims and said he did not recall having met her.

His attempt to refute Giuffre’s allegations backfired during a November 2019 BBC interview. Viewers saw a prince who proffered curious rebuttals – such as disputing Giuffre’s recollection of sweaty dancing by saying he was medically incapable of perspiring – and showed no empathy for the women who said Epstein abused them.

Within 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 statement filed in court said that the prince acknowledged Epstein was a sex trafficker and Giuffre was “an established victim of abuse”.

Andrew will remain a prince, which he has been entitled to since birth. And he will retain his dukedom, which can only be removed by an Act of Parliament, but not use it.

But he will give up his knighthood as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) and his Garter role as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.