The Duke of York’s military titles and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen, Buckingham Palace has said, writes BBC.

Prince Andrew, 61, will also stop using the style His Royal Highness in an official capacity, a royal source said.

It comes as he faces a US civil action over sexual assault allegations - claims he has consistently denied.

A source close to the duke said he would “continue to defend himself” against the case brought in New York by Virginia Giuffre.

But the source insisted a judge’s ruling on Wednesday that the civil action could proceed was “not a judgement on the merits of Ms Giuffre’s allegations”.