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Prince Andrew is giving up his titles, including the York's Duke, he has stated in a own words.

He has been under growing attention over his associations with convicted criminal Epstein, with demands for the monarchy to take steps against him.

That now looks to have caused the royal deciding to voluntarily give up his honors and to surrender involvement of the prestigious order.

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

"In talks with the King, and my close and extended family, we have agreed the ongoing accusations about me take away from the duties of the monarch and the royal household," said a statement from Prince Andrew.

"I have decided, as I always have, to put my responsibility to my relatives and country first.

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

"With His Majesty's approval, we feel I must now go a additional measure. I will therefore no longer employ my designation or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously dispute the accusations against me."

Prince Andrew has faced a series of issues, including a court case he resolved with the plaintiff, doubts about his finances and his involvement with an suspected foreign agent.

He will continue to be a member of royalty - but will stop to be the York's Duke, a honor received from his the late Queen, the former monarch.

The prince had already stopped to be a "participating figure" and had given up the use of his HRH title and no longer appeared at state occasions. His status now will be even more diminished.

His former spouse will be known as Ferguson and no longer Duchess of York, but their children will carry on to have the title of princess.

He has been under intense scrutiny over his links with convicted sex offender Epstein, more recently featuring inquiries about when he had actually cut off ties.

In his media discussion, the royal had said that he had cut off all links with the financier after they had been seen together in the city in late 2010.

But emails sent in early 2011 later surfaced indicating that he had in private continued in communication with Epstein, such as swapping a note: "Keep in close touch and we'll have further interactions soon!"

There had been growing annoyance in Buckingham Palace at the controversies that continued to surround the figure.

Soon a posthumous memoir by the accuser will be released which is likely to cast further attention on his involvement with the plaintiff and Jeffrey Epstein.