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He is relinquishing his designations, including the the Duke, he has declared in a personal statement.

He has been under growing pressure over his links with sex offender Epstein, with calls for the monarchy to take steps against him.

That now looks to have led to the prince deciding to voluntarily return his designations and to relinquish membership of the Garter Order.

In his statement he said he continued to "strongly refute the allegations against me".

"In talks with the King, and my close and broader family, we have concluded the persistent allegations about me take away from the responsibilities of the King and the monarchy," said a announcement from Prince Andrew.

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

"I support my choice five years ago to step back from official duties.

"With His Majesty's consent, we feel I must now go a additional measure. I will therefore no longer employ my honor or the awards which have been bestowed on me. As I have said before, I vigorously refute the accusations against me."

He has encountered a series of scandals, such as a court case he resolved with the plaintiff, inquiries about his economic affairs and his connection with an suspected Chinese spy.

He will continue to be a royal - but will stop to be the the Duke, a honor bestowed from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth.

The prince had already ended to be a "working royal" and had given up the use of his HRH title and no longer appeared at official royal events. His position now will be even more lessened.

His former spouse will be known as Sarah Ferguson and no longer York's Duchess, but their daughters will continue to have the title of princess.

The royal has been under strong scrutiny over his links with convicted sex offender the financier, more lately involving doubts about when he had truly cut off contact.

In his BBC Newsnight interview, he had said that he had ended all connections with Jeffrey Epstein after they had been photographed together in New York in December 2010.

But correspondence sent in early 2011 later surfaced indicating that he had in private continued in contact with him, including exchanging a note: "Keep in close touch and we'll meet again soon!"

There had been growing displeasure in Buckingham Palace at the scandals that continued to surround the prince.

Next week a posthumous memoir by the accuser will be released which is expected to bring further scrutiny on Prince Andrew's connection with Ms Giuffre and the financier.