Not in a lifetime has there been such a downfall of a duke.

Prince Andrew, once a war hero heartthrob, has given up his Duke of York title, under growing public pressure and a King who has lost his patience.

A century after the last royal dukedoms were stripped from Britain’s declared enemies in World War I, Andrew has chosen to stop using his own.

Prince Andrew and the then-Prince Charles, pictured in 2012.Credit: Getty Images

It follows a conflagration of sex assault claims, a friendship with a human-trafficking paedophile and a relentless drip of Chinese spy allegations that became intolerable for palace and public.

An email from 2011 finally sealed his fate: five words Andrew sent to Jeffrey Epstein after the paedophile financier had already been jailed: “We’re in this together.”

The revelation this week blew apart his claims that he had cut ties with his friend: the tip of the iceberg in Duke of York-related scandals over the past few years, but the one that swept away any pretence that he had been simply misunderstood.

Andrew has now relinquished the use of his title “voluntarily”.

Years after he claimed to be “too honourable” – in a Newsnight interview so disastrous he had to step down as a working royal – he has finally taken the chance to do........

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