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He is giving up his designations, among them the the Duke, he has declared in a personal statement.

He has been under mounting scrutiny over his links with sex offender Epstein, with calls for the royal household to take measures against him.

That now appears to have resulted in the figure deciding to of his own accord give up his titles and to relinquish involvement of the Garter Order.

In his announcement he said he continued to "firmly dispute the accusations against me".

"In talks with the sovereign, and my close and broader family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the duties of His Majesty and the Royal Family," said a message from him.

"I have chosen, as I always have, to put my responsibility to my kin and country first.

"I uphold my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.

"With His Majesty's agreement, we believe I must now go a additional measure. I will therefore no longer use my title or the distinctions which have been granted to me. As I have said earlier, I firmly refute the claims against me."

He has been involved in a range of issues, among them a court case he ended with the plaintiff, doubts about his money matters and his association with an alleged Chinese spy.

He will remain a prince - but will discontinue to be the Duke of York, a designation received from his the late Queen, the former monarch.

Andrew had already ceased to be a "active member" and had forfeited the use of his His Royal Highness designation and no longer was seen at state occasions. His role now will be even more diminished.

His ex-wife will be known as Sarah and no longer York's Duchess, but their offspring will persist to have the honor of princesses.

Prince Andrew has been under intense scrutiny over his connections with disgraced financier Epstein, more lately including questions about when he had really cut off communication.

In his media discussion, Prince Andrew had said that he had ended all links with the financier after they had been pictured together in NYC in late 2010.

But messages sent in February 2011 later emerged indicating that Andrew had confidentially continued in contact with him, including exchanging a communication: "Stay in contact and we'll play some more soon!"

There had been increasing annoyance in the royal household at the controversies that continued to plague the figure.

In the coming days a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre will be released which is expected to bring further focus on Prince Andrew's association with Ms Giuffre and the financier.