Duke of York to step back from public duties
Prince Andrew has announced that he will be stepping back from public duties for the “foreseeable future.”
In a statement released this afternoon, the Duke said that “it has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the main organisations and charities that I am proud to support.”
Read more: BT & Inmarsat cut ties with Duke
“Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission,” he added.
The Duke also said he continued to ‘unequivocally regret’ his association with Jeffrey Epstein.
“I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure.”
The Duke’s Pitch@Palace initiative has been hit by a number of high-profile withdrawals of support in recent days, with KPMG, Standard Chartered and Inmarsat all revealing they have ceased to sponsor the initiative.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.