Prince Andrew is discontinuing the use of his royal titles and honors.

In a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Friday, Oct. 17, Prince Andrew said he will no longer use his title or honors as it distracts from the work of King Charles and the royal family.

Andrew, 65, said in the statement, “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.”

“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,” he continued. “As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”

To officially strip Prince Andrew’s titles, it would require an act of parliament.

Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will no longer use her Duchess of York title. She has long gone by Sarah Ferguson professionally and will now use that name in all areas of her life, PEOPLE understands. The former couple will also continue to reside at their residence, Royal Lodge, on the Windsor Castle estate, as Andrew has a private tenancy agreement with The Crown Estate, which is unaffected by issues relating to his titles.

PEOPLE also understands that Andrew will not attend any of the royal family’s Christmas celebrations.

The former couple’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will not have their titles affected by this decision.

Prince Andrew has been styled as “His Royal Highness” since birth. Upon his marriage to Sarah Ferguson in 1986, his mother, Queen Elizabeth, gave him the titles of Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh.

The Duke of York is the traditional title for the sovereign’s second son, and the elite peerage has a rich royal history. According to British etiquette expert Debrett’s, the dukedom has been traditionally conferred upon the second son of the monarch since Edward IV in 1474. Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, was also known as the Duke of York prior to the shocking abdication of his elder brother, King Edward VIII, in 1936.

Among other honors, he is also a knight of the prestigious Order of the Garter. However, he has not publicly participated in the Garter Day ceremony, held at Windsor Castle each June, in recent years.

The move comes amid renewed interest surrounding Andrew’s connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. Prince Andrew, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, stepped back from his royal role in 2019 following his BBC interview regarding his ties to the disgraced financier. In January 2022, the Queen stripped her second son of his military titles and patronages after a judge rejected his attempt to have Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault lawsuit against him dismissed. (He settled with Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year, out of court for an undisclosed sum.) He also stopped using the “His Royal Highness” styling.

At the time, he kept his Duke of York title and other honors. He also continued to join the royals at family events, which included holiday outings, funerals and more private gatherings. Andrew also kept his place in the line of succession to the throne, which is currently eighth behind Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s two children.

Prince Andrew’s relationship with Epstein sparked renewed interest in recent weeks. Reports revealed a newly surfaced email from 2011 that allegedly showed the royal telling Epstein, “It would seem we are in this together,” one day after the infamous picture of Andrew with his arm around Giuffre was published.

The email message from Andrew to Epstein also appeared to prove that the pair were in contact after the royal said that he had cut ties with him. The King’s brother told BBC Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis that he had visited Epstein in New York in December 2010 to end their association in person.

Just weeks early, another email was published by The Sun and The Mail on Sunday showing Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, calling Epstein “a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.” That 2011 email was sent after she had said in an interview that she regretted accepting money from him and vowed not to contact him again. Several charities cut ties with Ferguson in the wake of the reports.

Prince Andrew recently joined the royal family at the funeral of Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, in September. Andrew and Sarah, who divorced in 1996 but remained amicable, arrived together at Westminster Cathedral for the service, also attended by King Charles, Prince William, Kate Middleton and other royals.

He’s also joined the royals on their holiday church outings such as Christmas and Easter since stepping back from his royal role. However, The Sunday Times recently reported that Andrew and Sarah wouldn’t be welcomed by King Charles for the Sandringham Christmas outing this year. Similar to last year, when Andrew’s Chinese spy scandal was in the headlines and Sarah was “enlisted” to keep him from the family festivities, the monarch reportedly asked the pair to keep a low profile at the holidays and celebrate on their own.

A source close to King Charles told the outlet, “You can’t sack someone from being your brother. But this year, if the duke and duchess were both to be as honorable [as last year], it would be very much for the best and the family would not be disappointed, not least to avoid the King having to make any more difficult decisions.”

Aside from being largely out of the public eye, Prince Andrew’s status as a non-working royal stripped of his military affiliations was obvious at the funeral for Queen Elizabeth in 2022, when he was not allowed to wear his military uniform to the service.

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Since 2019, Prince Andrew has been kept out of the spotlight against his wishes, biographer Andrew Lownie claimed in an August 2025 interview with Sky News tied to the release of his new book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.

“What most annoys him is his lack of a royal status,” Lownie said. “That’s what really sort of gave him his whole sense of identity. And that’s, you know, it’s not being able to put on his uniforms and strut around and being self-important.”