Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II has announced he is standing down from his official royal duties as the fallout from his recent decisions and previous relationship with Jeffrey Epstein distracted from the work of the Royal Family.

Revealing the decision in a statement issued through Buckingham Palace, Prince Andrew said his “former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major distraction” from the charities and organisations he and the Royal Family support, and because of this he asked the monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, for permission to step back from public duties.

Underlining previous comments, the royal said he “unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein”, noting that his suicide “has left many unanswered questions” and that he would “of course” cooperate with law enforcement if required.

In the 21st century, much of the role of British royals is to support to charities and good works, with individual royals acting as patrons of specific causes. The decision to step down from public works for Prince Andrew has come among several charities and universities choosing to sever links.

Prince Andrew agreed to a rare no-holds-barred interview with the BBC over the allegations made about him, a decision it was subsequently revealed had not been agreed to by the Queen in advance, and one that had triggered the Prince’s PR advisor quit over, as his advice to not do it has been ignored. As it happened the Prince performed poorly in the interview and triggered a media storm with a series of bizarre answers.