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Topics: Prince Andrew, Royal Family, UK News, Jeffrey Epstein, Virginia Giuffre
Joshua Nair
Topics: Prince Andrew, Royal Family, UK News, Jeffrey Epstein, Virginia Giuffre
Prince Andrew has announced that he will be giving up all his titles, including the Duke of York, after the numerous allegations made against him.
The decision comes after increased pressure was put on the Royal following further reports of his relationship with late paedophile and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
While the infamous 'Epstein Files' are yet to be released, with US President Donald Trump seemingly doing a U-turn on his pledge to release the flight logs of names who had visited the disgraced businessman's island, the Prince has decided to distance himself from the Royal Family further.
Prince Andrew has also been accused of his relationship with an alleged Chinese spy, as the changes of removing of his titles are set to take effect immediately.
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In an official statement, Prince Andrew said: "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.
"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.
"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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He will remain a prince, as the son of Elizabeth II, though his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will no longer use her title of The Duchess of York, report Sky.
King Charles is said to be glad of the outcome, after the decision was made after consulting both His Majesty and other members of the Royal Family. He will continue to live at Windsor Estate at the Royal Lodge and be known as Prince Andrew, while the positions off his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, are set to remain the same.
It was further reported by the publication that 'the Prince's personal issues have continued to be what has been described as an unwelcome distraction'.
Virginia Giuffre, who settled a sexual assault lawsuit filed against Prince Andrew after alleging she was trafficked by Epstein to the Royal, claimed that she was lent 'out to their friends' when speaking about Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, after originally being hired as a masseuse.
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In an excerpt of her memoir published in The Guardian after her death by suicide, she claimed that she met Prince Andrew on 10 March 2001, claiming that when the Prince was made to guess her age, he correctly guessed she was 17 before telling her 'my daughters are just a little younger than you'.