UK’s Prince Andrew giving up Duke of York title because of Epstein scandal
The royal’s friendship with the US sex offender is back in the headlines because of a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre
Britain’s Prince Andrew said on Friday that he was giving up his royal title of the Duke of York and other honours after his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein returned to the headlines.
The younger brother of King Charles and the royal family had decided “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.
It comes as excerpts have been published of an coming posthumous memoir from Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew when she was 17.
Andrew, 65, stepped down from public life in 2019, but denied wrongdoing.
In a statement on Friday, he said: “With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
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Giuffre died by suicide in April at the age of 41. In the memoir she details alleged encounters with Prince Andrew, who she sued in 2021, claiming that they had sex when she was 17. Andrew denied her claims and said he did not recall having met her.