LONDON - Prince Andrew has been stripped of his military titles and royal patronages by the Queen ahead of his trial for sex offences, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The Palace said in a statement: “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.”

Andrew is facing a civil trial for sexual assault in the US, after a judge ruled on Wednesday the case could go ahead. He denies all charges.

The move comes after calls from veterans to strip him of his honorary military roles.

In an open letter to the Queen, more than 150 former members of Royal Navy, RAF and Army described their “upset and anger” at Andrew retaining the titles, saying his position was “untenable”.

The letter said: “Please do not leave it any longer.”

The Queen is head of the Armed Forces, and honorary military appointments are in her gift.

The duke had held the title of Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, one of the oldest and most emblematic regiments in the British Army.

His other British honorary military titles were: Honorary air commodore of RAF Lossiemouth; Colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Regiment; Colonel-in-chief of the Small Arms School Corps; Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm; Royal colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers; Deputy colonel-in-chief of The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths’ Own); and Royal colonel of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Prince Andrew is preparing now to defend himself as an ordinary citizen against sexual assault allegations in a US civil trial after failing to have the lawsuit thrown out of court.

His lawyers had called for the dismissal of the case, brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, citing a deal that she signed with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2009. But a New York judge has rejected his motion.