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Prince Andrew is surrendering his honors, such as the York's Duke, he has declared in a individual message.

He has been under mounting scrutiny over his links with disgraced financier the financier, with demands for the royal household to take measures against him.

That now seems to have led to the prince deciding to voluntarily return his titles and to surrender involvement of the prestigious order.

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

"In consultation with the sovereign, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued claims about me take away from the duties of the King and the monarchy," said a statement from Prince Andrew.

"I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my kin and land first.

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

"With His Majesty's approval, we believe I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer employ my designation or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said earlier, I firmly dispute the claims against me."

Prince Andrew has encountered a range of scandals, such as a legal case he ended with the plaintiff, doubts about his money matters and his involvement with an alleged Chinese spy.

He will continue to be a royal - but will cease to be the the Duke, a designation received from his the late Queen, the former monarch.

He had already ceased to be a "participating figure" and had forfeited the use of his HRH title and no longer appeared at state occasions. His position now will be even more lessened.

His ex-wife will be known as Sarah Ferguson and no longer York's Duchess, but their offspring will continue to have the title of princess.

Prince Andrew has been under intense attention over his associations with notorious figure Epstein, more in recent times including doubts about when he had really ended communication.

In his BBC Newsnight interview, he had said that he had severed all ties with Jeffrey Epstein after they had been pictured together in NYC in late 2010.

But emails sent in early 2011 later came to light suggesting that he had confidentially stayed in contact with Epstein, including swapping a communication: "Remain connected and we'll meet again soon!"

There had been growing annoyance in the royal household at the scandals that continued to surround the royal.

Next week a posthumous memoir by the accuser will be released which is expected to draw additional focus on the royal's association with the plaintiff and Jeffrey Epstein.