PRINCE ANDREW has been stripped of his military affiliations and royal patronages, including “His Royal Highness,” Buckingham Palace announced last night.

The decision follows an open letter to the Queen signed by 150 military veterans calling for the prince to lose his honorary military roles.

The letter said Prince Andrew had “fallen well short of” the highest standards expected of officers of the armed forces and that he had  “brought the services he is associated with into disrepute.”

The news came as lawyer for his accuser Virginia Giuffre suggested she was unlikely to accept a “purely financial settlement” in a civil claim against the royal.

Legal experts have said one way for the duke to avoid trial would be through an out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre. 

But David Boies said that his client wants to be “vindicated” by the legal process.

Ms Giuffre claims that she was trafficked by billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who forced her to have sex with the prince when she was 17 — underage under US law.

The duke has vehemently denied the allegations.