Prince Andrew was forced to give up his royal title as Duke of York Friday — after new revelations about his friendship with late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged this week.
The scandal-scarred royal, 65, said he decided to relinquish his titles after discussing the matter with his brother, King Charles III, and concluding that “accusations” distract from his family’s work.
“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,” Prince Andrew said in a statement released by Buckingham Palace.
“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 said.
The announcement comes after excerpts from a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre — who alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew when she was 17— were made public this week.
But Prince Andrew, who stepped back from public duties as allegations swirled in 2019, said he stands by his assertion that he did not sexually abuse Giuffre.
“As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me,” he added in the statement.
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In new excerpts of her memoir, Giuffre writes that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew at the London home of Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell — and that he acted “entitled, as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright.”
Giuffre, 41, took her own life in April. Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year sentence after she was convicted on federal charges of grooming and sexually abusing young women as Epstein’s right-hand woman.
