The Duke of York arrives at the Headquarters of CrossRail in Canary Wharf on March 7, 2011 in London, England. Prince Andrew is under increasing pressure after a series of damaging revelations about him, including criticism over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier surfaced.Dan Kitwood
Prince Andrew could be axed by the government as the country's roving trade ambassador because of his friendship with a convicted U.S. pedophile, newspapers reported on Monday.
The 50-year-old prince, Queen Elizabeth's second son, has been a special representative for a government body promoting British businesses abroad and seeking to attract foreign investment since 2001.
However, government sources have told the media that his position was now in jeopardy because of his relationship with New York financier Jeffrey Epstein who was sentenced to 18 months in jail for child sex offences.
There was also criticism of his alleged links to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam.
The Duke of York also hosted the son of the Tunisian dictator shortly before a popular uprising drove him from power.
The unnamed sources said any further revelations involving the prince, fourth-in-line to the throne, would make his position untenable.
For Britain's royal family it's an inconvenient distraction for that comes less than two months before a fairytale wedding anticipated by much of the world.
Buckingham Palace is in damage control mode as it attempts to keep the public's focus on the April 29 wedding between Prince William and tabloid favourite Kate Middleton, his university sweetheart.
Buckingham Palace said Andrew was fully committed to his role and would be getting on with his job, with the full support of the government.
Since becoming a special trade representative in 2001, Andrew has also drawn criticism for reportedly taking lavish trips in his role as an unpaid trade ambassador.
Labour MP Chris Bryant said the government should get rid of Andrew immediately.
"I think the government is making a big mistake here. They shouldn't be indulging in all this kind of off-the-record briefing," he told BBC radio. "They should be absolutely clear - we are going to dispense with his services."
However Business Secretary Vince Cable admitted there would be "conversations" about Andrew's future, but said it would be up to the prince to resign as he was a volunteer not a political appointee to be appointed or fired.
"I don't know what he's done or hasn't done. There's a lot of speculative stories about him," Mr. Cable told BBC radio, adding businesses who had worked with the prince had said he had been supportive and helpful.
"It is down to him to judge the position he wants to be in. Obviously there are conversations which will take place with him about what he's to do in future."
Andrew, who divorced former wife Sarah Ferguson in 1996, has had a difficult relationship with the media for many years.
Newspapers have regularly criticized him for his "playboy" lifestyle, printing photographs of him cavorting on yachts or sunbathing surrounded by topless women.
Foreign Secretary William Hague also expressing his full confidence in Andrew's work.
"I'm not an expert in ... the embarrassments," Mr. Hague told the BBC. "But certainly I've seen around the world a lot of good that he has done for this country."
Photos recently published in the British media show Andrew strolling in a park with Epstein - the New York billionaire jailed for soliciting underage prostitutes in Florida. Most recently, a photograph emerged showing Andrew with his arm around the waist of the teenage prostitute at the centre of that case.
"There's no accusation he's done anything wrong - there's been no suggestion of any impropriety on his part because there has been none at all," a royal source said of the latest allegations.
The source said Andrew had met Saif Gaddafi twice, and they were not friends, and he accepted he was unwise to have associated with Epstein since his conviction.
"You won't be seeing him and Mr. Epstein in a photograph again," the source told Reuters.
Andrew's ex-wife has confirmed receiving financial help from Epstein, but says she had known nothing about his background and is vowing to return the money.
Sarah, Duchess of York, said in an interview published Monday in the Evening Standard newspaper that she would repay the $24,500 advanced by Epstein to settle a debt to her former personal assistant, Johnny O'Sullivan.
The duchess is quoted as saying "I am just so contrite I cannot say."
She says the payment was handled through Andrew's office, the duchess said, and she wasn't directly involved.
With files from The Associated Press