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He is relinquishing his designations, among them the the Duke, he has stated in a own words.

He has been under growing pressure over his links with convicted criminal Epstein, with calls for the monarchy to take action against him.

That now looks to have led to the figure deciding to of his own accord return his titles and to give up membership of the Order of the Garter.

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

"In consultation with the monarch, and my immediate and broader family, we have agreed the continued allegations about me divert from the responsibilities of the monarch and the royal household," said a statement from Prince Andrew.

"I have opted, as I always have, to put my obligation to my kin and nation first.

"I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from royal engagements.

"With the King's approval, we believe I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer employ my title or the awards which have been bestowed on me. As I have said earlier, I strongly deny the claims against me."

He has been involved in a range of scandals, such as a court case he resolved with an accuser, doubts about his money matters and his involvement with an alleged foreign agent.

He will stay a member of royalty - but will cease to be the York's Duke, a title bestowed from his mother, the former monarch.

He had already stopped to be a "active member" and had lost the use of his royal style and no longer appeared at official royal events. His status now will be even more lessened.

His previous partner will be known as Ferguson and no longer York's Duchess, but their children will continue to have the honor of princess.

Prince Andrew has encountered severe attention over his links with disgraced financier Epstein, more recently featuring doubts about when he had really severed ties.

In his BBC Newsnight interview, he had said that he had ended all ties with Jeffrey Epstein after they had been pictured together in New York in December 2010.

But correspondence sent in early 2011 later surfaced indicating that the prince had confidentially continued in communication with the financier, such as exchanging a message: "Keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon!"

There had been increasing displeasure in Buckingham Palace at the controversies that persisted to surround the figure.

In the coming days a book released after death by the accuser will be published which is expected to cast more attention on his association with the plaintiff and Jeffrey Epstein.