PR guru Max Clifford vowed to clear his name in court as he was charged with 11 historic counts of indecent assault against teenage girls.
The 70-year-old, famed for representing celebrities including Simon Cowell and Jade Goody, said he has been "living a 24/7 nightmare" since his arrest in December.
Clifford was charged with offences linked to seven girls aged from 14 to 19 between 1966 and 1985 and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 28, Scotland Yard said.
He was arrested as part of Operation Yewtree, the national police inquiry sparked by allegations of abuse against Jimmy Savile.
Clifford said: "The allegations in respect of which I have been charged are completely false and I have made this clear to the police during many, many hours of interviews.
"Nevertheless a decision has been taken to charge me with 11 offences involving seven women, the most recent of which is 28 years ago and the oldest 47 years ago.
"I have never indecently assaulted anyone in my life and this will become clear during the course of the proceedings."
Clifford has made a career of taking on some of the most talked-about celebrity stories in the last few decades.
The public relations veteran notably represented OJ Simpson and was behind the rumours that sparked the tabloid headline "Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster".
He said: "I am naturally disappointed about today's decision, particularly because of the distress it has caused my wife, Jo, my daughter, Louise, and all those close to me.
"However, at least I will now be in a position to fully consider all the evidence against me and to answer the evidence in public and ultimately clear my name in a court of law.
"Since last December I have been living a 24/7 nightmare. A black cloud has been placed over me, obliterating the bright blue skies that I have been fortunate to live my life under for the vast majority of the past 70 years."
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) found that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges in relation to three other allegations made against Clifford.
Alison Saunders, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London, said: "We have carefully considered the evidence gathered as part of Operation Yewtree in relation to Max Clifford, who was initially arrested on December 6 2012 over allegations of sexual offences.
"Having completed our review, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Clifford to be charged with 11 offences of indecent assault relating to seven complainants."
Speaking outside his home in Surrey, an emotional Clifford told reporters: "The allegations in respect of which I have been charged are completely false, very upsetting, very distressing, but completely false.
"I have made it clear to the police during probably around 25 hours of interviews since last December when I was initially arrested, that there's absolutely no truth and substance in any of these allegations."
He added: "I'm so grateful to the many people that I meet everywhere I go who have been so supportive to me and since this charge being announced in the last couple of hours I've literally had hundreds of calls to my office, to friends, to myself, to my wife, to family members, and everyone of them has been nothing but supportive.
"Twenty-eight years ago was this most recent [allegation], and 47 years ago was the oldest.
"That's what I'm up against and that's what I've now got to - with my legal team - face up to and sort out to clear my name."
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