Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has withdrawn all military ranks and royal patronage from her son Prince Andrew, who is being sued for abuse allegations in the United States. Andrew will defend himself as a private citizen in the trial, Buckingham Palace in London said on Thursday: "With the Queen's consent, the Duke of York's military affiliations and royal patronage have been returned to the Queen. The Duke of York will continue to hold no public office and is defending this case as a private individual."
Earlier, more than 150 veterans signed an open letter calling on the Queen to strip her son of his titles.
The letter said: "We are extremely dismayed and upset that Prince Andrew remains a member of the Armed Forces and continues to hold military titles, positions and ranks, including Vice Admiral in the Royal Navy." committed to the highest standards of probity, honesty and honorable conduct.
According to the Guardian, which cites a royal source, the prince will no longer use the salutation "His Royal Highness" in any official capacity.
Queen Elizabeth II's second son is accused of sexual abuse in connection with the affair surrounding convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
New York federal judge Lewis Kaplan, in a ruling released Wednesday, denied a motion that the prince's attorneys had called for the civil suit to be dismissed because plaintiff Virginia Giuffre entered into a 2009 settlement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In the until recently secret agreement, Giuffre had promised not to sue US multimillionaire Epstein for sex offenses or "other potential suspects" in this connection in return for $500,000 (around 440,000 euros).