Prince Andrew said in an announcement on Friday that he’s giving up his royal titles, including Duke of York, after his links to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein returned to the headlines.
“In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have now concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family. I even have decided, as I all the time have, to place my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to face back from public life,” Andrew said in a statement released by Buckingham Palace.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and all over the world, join for breaking news alerts delivered on to you after they occur.
“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I need to now go a step further. I’ll due to this fact not use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I even have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me,” the younger brother of King Charles III added.
He’ll still be known as a prince, but he’ll not carry the Duke of York title, which was bestowed upon him by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
This comes as excerpts have been published of an upcoming posthumous memoir from Virginia Giuffre, who has alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew when she was 17.
It is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
—With a file from The Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.