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He is giving up his honors, including the Duke of York, he has stated in a individual message.

He has been under mounting attention over his connections with convicted criminal Epstein, with calls for the royal household to take action against him.

That now looks to have resulted in the prince deciding to voluntarily hand back his designations and to surrender involvement of the Order of the Garter.

In his statement he said he continued to "strongly dispute the allegations against me".

"In talks with the sovereign, and my close and broader family, we have decided the ongoing claims about me take away from the duties of the King and the Royal Family," said a announcement from him.

"I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my kin and country first.

"I uphold my decision five years ago to withdraw from royal engagements.

"With His Majesty's consent, we believe I must now go a further step. I will therefore no longer employ my title or the awards which have been conferred upon me. As I have said earlier, I vigorously refute the allegations against me."

Prince Andrew has faced a number of scandals, such as a court case he settled with Virginia Giuffre, doubts about his money matters and his involvement with an suspected foreign agent.

He will continue to be a royal - but will discontinue to be the Duke of York, a honor received from his mother, the former monarch.

Andrew had already ceased to be a "active member" and had given up the use of his royal style and no longer appeared at state occasions. His role now will be even more lessened.

His ex-wife will be known as Sarah and no longer Duchess of York, but their offspring will carry on to have the designation of princesses.

He has been under intense attention over his associations with disgraced financier Epstein, more in recent times featuring inquiries about when he had truly cut off contact.

In his BBC Newsnight interview, Prince Andrew had said that he had ended all connections with the financier after they had been photographed together in the city in December 2010.

But messages sent in February 2011 later came to light indicating that he had privately remained in touch with Epstein, for example swapping a note: "Stay in contact and we'll meet again soon!"

There had been growing displeasure in Buckingham Palace at the controversies that continued to surround the prince.

In the coming days a posthumous memoir by the accuser will be published which is anticipated to bring more attention on his association with Virginia Giuffre and Epstein.