Prince Andrew gives up royal titles over Epstein ties

Prince Andrew has announced he is giving up his royal titles, saying the long-running allegations of ties to Jeffrey Epstein have become too big a distraction for 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,” Andrew said in a statement Friday. “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. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honors which have been conferred upon me.”

As a son of Queen Elizabeth II, Andrew will remain a prince but will lose titles given to him when he was older, including that of Duke of York and Earl of Inverness, among others.

Andrew, younger brother to King Charles, has been unable to shake the scandal over his friendship with Epstein, the American financier who ran a sex-trafficking ring.

One of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, sued Andrew in 2021, claiming she was forced to have sex with him. The case was settled in 2022 with no admission of wrongdoing.

Relatives of Giuffre, who died of suicide earlier this year, issued a statement late Friday calling Andrew’s renunciation of his titles “vindication for our sister and survivors everywhere,” and further calling on the king to remove his brother’s title of prince.

Andrew has denied the allegations throughout, notably during an infamous BBC Newsnight interview.

“As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me,” he said in Friday’s announcement, which comes on the heels of excerpts from Giuffre’s upcoming posthumous memoir.

Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will no longer be the Duchess of York. His daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, will retain their titles.