Prince Andrew has announced he will step away from public life and cease using his royal title and honors, following discussions with King Charles III and other senior members of 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 released Friday evening U.K. time. “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.”
He continued, “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 I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
The royal, 65, will remain a prince, but will no longer be the Duke of York, a title which was conferred upon him by Queen Elizabeth. He has been under intense scrutiny since 2019 following allegations linked to his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. While Andrew has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing, the scandal led him to withdraw from royal duties and lose a number of patronages.
He stopped using the style His Royal Highness, or HRH, in 2022 amid the civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre, which he eventually settled without admitting wrongdoing. An upcoming posthumous memoir by Giuffre, who died by suicide on April 25, has expanded upon her allegations against Andrew. Set for release on Tuesday, “Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice,” which was finished before Giuffre’s death, alleges she and Andrew had sex three times and that he played a “guessing game” before mentioning that she was older than his daughters.
Friday’s statement formalizes what has been a gradual retreat from public life. The move signals a further effort by Buckingham Palace to distance the monarchy from ongoing controversies as it seeks to refocus attention on the work of King Charles and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
From Variety US
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