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Prince Andrew is relinquishing his honors, such as the the Duke, he has declared in a own words.

He has been under mounting pressure over his associations with disgraced financier the financier, with calls for the monarchy to take measures against him.

That now looks to have resulted in the figure deciding to willingly hand back his honors and to give up membership of the Garter Order.

In his statement he said he continued to "firmly refute the claims against me".

"In discussion with the sovereign, and my direct and wider family, we have concluded the ongoing allegations about me divert from the responsibilities of His Majesty and the Royal Family," said a announcement from him.

"I have opted, as I always have, to put my responsibility to my kin and nation first.

"I support my decision five years ago to withdraw from royal engagements.

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

The royal has encountered a number of issues, including a legal case he ended with an accuser, inquiries about his economic affairs and his involvement with an suspected Chinese spy.

He will remain a royal - but will stop to be the the Duke, a honor granted from his mother, the Queen Elizabeth II.

He had already ended to be a "participating figure" and had lost the use of his His Royal Highness designation and no longer participated at public engagements. His position now will be even more lessened.

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

He has encountered severe scrutiny over his links with notorious figure Epstein, more lately involving inquiries about when he had truly severed communication.

In his television appearance, the royal had said that he had severed all connections with the financier after they had been pictured together in NYC in the end of 2010.

But correspondence sent in February 2011 later surfaced indicating that Andrew had privately continued in contact with him, including exchanging a communication: "Remain connected and we'll meet again soon!"

There had been growing displeasure in Buckingham Palace at the controversies that remained to envelop the figure.

Soon a late publication by Virginia Giuffre will be issued which is expected to draw more attention on his association with Ms Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein.