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The royal is relinquishing his honors, such as the Duke of York, he has stated in a personal statement.

He has been under increasing scrutiny over his connections with disgraced financier the financier, with calls for the Palace to take measures against him.

That now seems to have caused the royal deciding to of his own accord hand back his titles and to surrender participation of the Order of the Garter.

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

"In consultation with the King, and my close and broader family, we have concluded the ongoing allegations about me distract from the responsibilities of the monarch and the royal household," said a announcement from the royal.

"I have opted, as I always have, to put my responsibility to my relatives and land first.

"I stand by my decision five years ago to withdraw from public life.

"With the monarch's agreement, we believe I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the awards which have been conferred upon me. As I have said before, I strongly deny the allegations against me."

Prince Andrew has faced a number of controversies, among them a court case he resolved with an accuser, questions about his finances and his association with an alleged intelligence operative.

He will continue to be a member of royalty - but will discontinue to be the the Duke, a designation bestowed from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth.

The prince had already stopped to be a "participating figure" and had given up the use of his HRH title and no longer was seen at public engagements. His status now will be even more lessened.

His former spouse will be known as Sarah Ferguson and no longer the Duchess, but their offspring will carry on to have the honor of royal princess.

The royal has encountered strong attention over his links with disgraced financier Epstein, more lately featuring doubts about when he had actually ended contact.

In his BBC Newsnight interview, he had said that he had cut off all connections with Jeffrey Epstein after they had been pictured together in NYC in late 2010.

But messages sent in early 2011 later surfaced implying that Andrew had privately continued in touch with the financier, such as sending a note: "Stay in contact and we'll meet again soon!"

There had been mounting annoyance in the royal household at the controversies that remained to surround the royal.

Soon a book released after death by the accuser will be released which is anticipated to cast more focus on Prince Andrew's association with the plaintiff and the financier.