Prince Andrew announces he's stepping back from royal duties for the foreseeable future

Prince Andrew has announced he's stepping back from royal duties for the foreseeable future.

• The Duke of York is officially taking a break from his royal duties, it's been announced.
• The royal explained he received the Queen's blessing to step back.
• This royal news follows the heavy criticism he faced following his BBC interview over the weekend.

The news was announced in an official statement on the official Royal Family Twitter account.

In it, the Duke of York explained that he does not wish for his 'former association' with convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein to hinder the work his family does or the charities he worked with.

The statement read, 'It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support.

'Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.

The statement continued to add that he sympathises with Epstein's victims, and offer his help to the authorities.

He added, 'I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein. His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure. I can only hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives. Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.'

His decision to take a step back from his royal duties comes just a few days after an interview he filmed with BBC Newsnight aired.

The Duke faced criticism since then, with many labelling it a 'car crash'.

Charlie Proctor, editor of Royal Central website, wrote, ‘I expected a train wreck. That was a plane crashing into an oil tanker, causing a tsunami, triggering a nuclear explosion level bad.’

Crisis consultant Mark Borkowski also said, “It was like watching a man in quicksand and unfortunately, I don’t think anyone would have thrown him a line to get him out”.

“I’ve never seen anything so disastrous."