Prince Andrew’s interview with the BBC this week was meant to smooth things over, but instead, it had the opposite effect. Andrew’s answers about his association with the late Jeffrey Epstein have become a PR disaster for the royal family.  Now the Prince says he “will step back from public duties for the foreseeable future.” The Queen’s son says “I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein.” Here’s his full statement:

The AP reports:

The decision of a senior royal to step away from his royal duties is extremely unusual and reflects the degree to which charities and educational institutions had been questioning their associations with him in recent days.

Andrew, who showed no remorse in Saturday’s interview, said he regrets his association with the former U.S. billionaire investor and that he “deeply sympathizes” with Epstein’s many victims.

The BBC writes that while the 59-year-old faced heavy criticism following that interview, his announcement today still comes as a surprise.

BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond said the move was “a big step” and was “pretty much without precedent in modern times”.

He said it showed a realisation that the interview had “upset a lot of people”, adding: “It was more than just bad publicity for Prince Andrew, it was clearly damaging the wider institution of the Royal Family.”

Watch the full interview above.