(MENAFN- AzerNews) King Charles is reportedly considering stripping his brother Prince Andrew of his royal title amid renewed interest surrounding Andrew's connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The King, 76, is "considering all options," a royal source told The Times, with one possible move being to remove Andrew's title as the Duke of York.

Removing a royal title would require an act of parliament, but the move could receive support from the government and the public with King Charles' backing, the outlet reports. The Times, citing the royal source, added that there is hope that Prince Andrew would voluntarily give up the dukedom before being forced.

Another possibility is that King Charles could remove his brother's role as a knight of the prestigious Order of the Garter, per The Times.

According to The Times, there is "concern" and "anxiety" within the royal household after the revelations about Andrew's connections to Epstein as well as a Chinese Communist Party official involved in a spy scandal.

PEOPLE has reached out to Buckingham Palace and Prince Andrew for comment.

Prince Andrew, 65, stepped back from his public royal role in 2019 following his bombshell interview with the BBC regarding his ties to Epstein, saying in a statement that he asked then-Queen Elizabeth, his mother, and she gave her permission.

In January 2022, the Queen stripped her second son of his military titles and patronages after a judge rejected his attempt to have Virginia Giuffre's sexual assault lawsuit against him dismissed. However, he kept his Duke of York title and other honors, including being a knight of the Order of the Garter, and continued to join the royals at family events such as holiday church outings.

The Duke of York has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and in February 2022, settled with Giuffre - who died by suicide earlier this year - out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Prince Andrew's relationship with Epstein - who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges - had renewed interest in recent weeks, as a newly surfaced email from 2011 reportedly showed Andrew telling disgraced financier, "It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it." The email was sent one day after the infamous picture of the prince with his arm around Giuffre was published.

The email message from Andrew to Epstein also appeared to prove that the pair were in contact after the royal said that he had cut ties with him. The King's brother told BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis that he had visited Epstein in New York in December 2010 to end their association in person.

The revelation of Andrew's email comes only weeks after another email - published by The Sun and The Mail on Sunday on Sept. 20 - in which his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, sent Epstein praising him as "a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family." That 2011 email was sent after she had said in an interview that she regretted accepting money from him and vowed not to contact him again. As a result, several charities cut ties with Ferguson.

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Prince Andrew was given the title of the Duke of York by Queen Elizabeth upon his marriage to Sarah in 1986. The title is typically given to the second son of the reigning British monarch.

Since stepping back from public royal duties, he has retained his title as the Duke of York and kept his place in the line of succession to the throne, which is currently eighth behind Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's two children.

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