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The royal is relinquishing his designations, among them the York's Duke, he has stated in a personal statement.

He has been under increasing scrutiny over his connections with sex offender the financier, with demands for the monarchy to take steps against him.

That now seems to have resulted in the figure deciding to of his own accord hand back his honors and to give up participation of the Order of the Garter.

In his message he said he continued to "vigorously refute the allegations against me".

"In talks with the monarch, and my close and broader family, we have concluded the ongoing accusations about me take away from the duties of the King and the monarchy," said a statement from the royal.

"I have chosen, as I always have, to put my obligation to my relatives and country first.

"I uphold my choice five years ago to stand back from official duties.

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

The royal has been involved in a range of issues, including a legal case he ended with the plaintiff, questions about his finances and his connection with an alleged foreign agent.

He will remain a prince - but will cease to be the the Duke, a title granted from his mother, the Queen Elizabeth II.

Andrew had already ended to be a "active member" and had lost the use of his HRH title and no longer participated at state occasions. His status now will be even more diminished.

His previous partner will be known as Ferguson and no longer York's Duchess, but their children will continue to have the title of princesses.

He has encountered strong scrutiny over his connections with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, more in recent times featuring questions about when he had actually ended communication.

In his BBC Newsnight interview, he had said that he had severed all links with Jeffrey Epstein after they had been photographed together in NYC in December 2010.

But emails sent in February 2011 later surfaced implying that he had in private stayed in contact with him, including exchanging a note: "Remain connected and we'll have further interactions soon!"

There had been increasing annoyance in Buckingham Palace at the scandals that persisted to plague the figure.

Next week a posthumous memoir by the accuser will be issued which is expected to bring more attention on the royal's involvement with Virginia Giuffre and Epstein.