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Prince Andrew is giving up his designations, such as the York's Duke, he has stated in a individual message.

He has been under increasing pressure over his associations with disgraced financier Epstein, with requests for the royal household to take action against him.

That now seems to have led to the prince deciding to voluntarily hand back his titles and to relinquish participation of the Garter Order.

In his announcement he said he continued to "firmly deny the allegations against me".

"In consultation with the sovereign, and my direct and broader family, we have decided the persistent accusations about me distract from the duties of the monarch and the monarchy," said a statement from Prince Andrew.

"I have chosen, as I always have, to put my responsibility to my family and country first.

"I uphold my decision five years ago to stand back from official duties.

"With His Majesty's approval, we think I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer employ my designation or the honours which have been granted to me. As I have said earlier, I strongly dispute the accusations against me."

Prince Andrew has been involved in a number of scandals, among them a lawsuit he resolved with Virginia Giuffre, questions about his money matters and his association with an accused Chinese spy.

He will continue to be a prince - but will discontinue to be the the Duke, a honor received from his parent, the Queen Elizabeth II.

He had already ceased to be a "active member" and had given up the use of his His Royal Highness designation and no longer was seen at state occasions. His position now will be even more reduced.

His ex-wife will be known as Sarah and no longer the Duchess, but their daughters will continue to have the designation of princess.

The royal has been under intense attention over his associations with notorious figure the financier, more recently including inquiries about when he had truly severed communication.

In his media discussion, the royal had said that he had severed all ties with Jeffrey Epstein after they had been photographed together in the city in December 2010.

But messages sent in early 2011 later surfaced implying that he had privately stayed in contact with him, such as swapping a message: "Keep in close touch and we'll meet again soon!"

There had been growing frustration in the royal household at the controversies that remained to envelop the royal.

Soon a book released after death by Giuffre will be released which is anticipated to bring more scrutiny on the royal's association with Ms Giuffre and Epstein.