Prince Andrew hands back his military affiliations to the Queen

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, has returned his military affiliations to the Queen, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday, the day after a sexual abuse case against him moved forward in the United States. 

“With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen,” the palace’s statement reads, adding he “will continue not to undertake any public duties.”

Prince Andrew will no longer use the title “His Royal Highness” in any capacity, according to NBC News.

More than 150 veterans had called on the Queen to strip her son of his military titles earlier Thursday, due to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier accused of sex trafficking, Reuters reported. 

The letter said the prince had “fallen well short of” the military’s highest standards of “probity, honesty and honourable conduct,” NBC reported.

The news comes one day after a New York federal judge permitted a case to move forward against Prince Andrew, accusing him of having sex with an underage girl — claims he has publicly denied. 

Virginia Giuffre alleges that she was sexually abused by Epstein and also had sex with the prince under the direction of Ghislaine Maxwell, a former partner of Epstein convicted in December of crimes related to grooming and trafficking underaged girls for Epstein. 

The Duke of York has denied Giuffre’s claims and argued that the case should be dismissed over a 2009 civil settlement that Giuffre signed with Epstein for $500,000. 

Prince Andrew was among a number of Epstein’s high-profile friends, a list that included former Presidents Trump and Clinton. Epstein died in 2019 of apparent suicide while awaiting trial for a litany of sex crimes. 

–Updated at 1:17 p.m.