Prince Andrew gives up royal titles amid Jeffrey Epstein controversy

Prince Andrew, younger brother of King Charles III and son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, will no longer use his royal titles amid renewed scrutiny over his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement released Friday by Buckingham Palace, Andrew said, "In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family. I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first."

"I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life," he continued. "With His Majesty's agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me."

The new decision means Andrew will no longer use his Duke of York title, but he will retain the title, as removing it would require a vote by the U.K. Parliament. He will still be referred to as Prince Andrew, the prince title given to him at birth by his mother, who died in 2022 at the age of 96.

The change will take place immediately and was done because Andrew's "personal issues continued to be an unwelcome distraction from the work of the wider royal family," a royal source explained to ABC News.

In addition to Charles, Andrew's nephew Prince William, the heir to the throne, was also consulted on the decision, along with other royal family members, the source said.

The titles of Andrew's two children, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, are not affected by the decision. Their mother, Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, will no longer go by the Duchess of York.

Andrew, 65, will continue to live at the Royal Lodge, his home on the Windsor Estate, a property owned by the royal family in Windsor, England.

Andrew, the second-youngest of Elizabeth and the late Prince Philip's four children, stepped back from royal public duties in 2019, saying in a statement at the time that his "former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family's work and the valuable work going on in the many organizations and charities that I am proud to support."

In January 2022, Andrew, who served for 22 years in the Royal Navy, returned his military titles and patronages to his mother.

One month later, in February 2022, Andrew agreed to settle a sexual assault lawsuit from Virginia Giuffre, an alleged victim of Epstein, without admitting to wrongdoing.

Giuffre had alleged that Epstein -- who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minor girls -- trafficked her to Andrew, whom she claimed took advantage and sexually abused her when she was under 18.

Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations and attacked Giuffre's credibility and motives.

Epstein and Giuffre, a mother of three who died by suicide in April, according to her family, previously settled a civil lawsuit for $500,000 in 2009.

A memoir Giuffre wrote prior to her death is scheduled to be published next week. The memoir, titled "Nobody's Girl," includes Giuffre's memories of what she alleges were her interactions with Andrew, according to a copy of the book viewed by ABC News.

In a statement to ABC News Friday, Giuffre's family described Andrew's decision to no longer use his royal titles as a "victory."

"This moment serves as a victory for Virginia, who consistently maintained, 'He knows what happened, I know what happened, and there's only one of us telling the truth, and I know that's me,'" the statement read, in part. "This is not just a victory for her, but for every single survivor of the horrific crimes perpetrated by Epstein and his co-conspirators."

Epstein's former companion Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on charges of child sex trafficking and other offenses connected to Epstein, is the only associate of Epstein's to be charged in connection with his crimes. She has consistently denied all wrongdoing.

In an interview in August with the U.S. Department of Justice, Maxwell claimed that an infamous photo of her with Andrew and Giuffre is fake and that an alleged sexual encounter between the prince and the then-teenage Giuffre could not have happened at her London home, as had been claimed by Giuffre.

"What I can absolutely categorically say is that I never at any time set Andrew up to have relations with her or any other human being ever," she said, according to a transcript and audio of the conversation released by the DOJ.