He will no longer be able to use his HRH title, Buckingham Palace said. It also said he will defend the sexual abuse case as a "private citizen". This comes after Judge Lewis A Caplan ruled that the civil case against Prince Andrew can proceed to trial, after the royal's lawyers attempted to get the case dismissed.

       Andrew's defence team cited a 2009 deal signed by Ms Giuffre and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which saw Ms Giuffre agree not to sue any "potential defendants".

       He will face a civil case in the US over allegations he sexually abused Ms Giuffre in 2001 when she was 17.

       Ms Guiffre claims she was trafficked by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to be abused by Andrew.

       The 61-year-old royal has strenuously denied the allegations.

       In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: "With the Queen's approval and agreement, The Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to the Queen.

       "The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen."

       A royal source told Reuters Andrew would no longer use the title 'His Royal Highness' in any official capacity and his other roles would be distributed among other members of the Royal family.

       The source said they would not return to Andrew.

       In the conclusion of his ruling, Judge Kaplan said: “For the foregoing reasons, defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint or for a more definite statement is denied in all respects."

       A source close to Andrew told ITV: "Given the robustness with which Judge Kaplan greeted our arguments we are unsurprised by the ruling.

       "However, it was not a judgement on the merits of Ms Giuffre's allegations.

       "This is a marathon not a sprint and the Duke will continue to defend himself against these claims."

       Ms Giuffre's legal team said she was "very pleased" with the ruling.

       Her lawyer, David Boies, told Sky News: "Virginia is obviously very pleased with the court’s decision.

       "It is only one step in the process. It does not resolve the case on the merits.

       "It simply rejects certain legal defences that Prince Andrew was putting up to avoid a trial.

       "It is an important step and my client is very pleased with that and that evidence will now be taken and very pleased there will now be a judicial determination on the merits of her claims against Prince Andrew."

       Andrew strenuously denies all allegations against him and claims he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing by Maxwell and Epstein.