Prince Andrew has stepped down from his role at a prestigious members-only club with his sex trial looming.
The Duke of York relinquished his honorary membership of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, the organisation said.
In a statement, the club said it had "received notification" that the Queen's second son, 61, wished to hand back his membership.
It added: "We respect and appreciate his decision."
The Duke has officially denied to a New York court a catalogue of sex abuse allegations brought by his accuser Virginia Giuffre and opted for a trial by jury in court documents filed by his legal team.
Earlier this month, Buckingham Palace issued a statement confirming Andrew would lose his remaining patronages and military titles, and he will no longer use His Royal Highness.
Initially, in 2019 after a car crash Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, Andrew's duties were suspended "for the foreseeable future".
His military affiliations and royal patronages will be redistributed among other members of the royal family.
The Firm is said to be wary of Andrew opting for a jury trial.
Insiders have reportedly questioned the "counter attack" tactics, which senior royals are understood to fear could expose Andrew while causing irreparable damage to the monarchy and overshadow the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
One royal source said: "It's the ultimate gamble."
Ms Guiffre, now 38, claims she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions in 2001 when 17 and was trafficked around the world to be used as a "sex slave" by the Duke's paedophile pal, the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
She said: "He needs to be held accountable. We need to show the world that the rich and the mighty can fall too."
In a further 40 statements, Andrew suggested that he "lacks sufficient information to admit or deny" other allegations, including an infamous picture of himself with 17-year-old Virginia Roberts, as she was then known, at the home of his long time pal and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
The Duke went on to claim he was not a "close friend" of Maxwell, who is facing 65 years behind bars, despite knowing her for 40 years and inviting her to Buckingham Palace and the Queen's Balmoral estate with her lover Epstein.
