Hours after a picture of Prince Andrew waving goodbye to a young woman from the door of Jeffery Epstein’s Manhattan mansion was released over the weekend, Buckingham Palace released a statement rejecting any suggestion that the Duke of York was party to Epstein’s crimes, Reuters reports.
The statement said, “The Duke of York has been appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes. His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behaviour is abhorrent.”
The picture of Prince Andrew and footage of Epstein, released by the Daily Mail, was reportedly taken in 2010, two years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to a felony prostitution charge in Florida and registered as a sex offender. A picture of Epstein and Andrew walking through Central Park together at the time had previously been released, but the new photo places the prince inside the home of a man who had a criminal record.
British radio host and journalist Jeremy Vine said on Twitter, “I literally don’t understand this. Prince Andrew remained friends with Epstein *after* his first conviction in 2008, which was public and contained all the elements he now says he’s appalled by”
Epstein hung himself in jail last weekend hours after a cache of court documents were unsealed. Among the documents released was a photograph of the prince with his arm around a 17 year-old Virginia Roberts who says Epstein paid her to have sex with the Duke of York according to the Washington Post.
Court documents have shown that many high profile men were socializing with Epstein, including Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.
Sarah Ferguson, the prince’s ex-wife, is also being criticized for her connection with Epstein. In what she calls a “gigantic error of judgement”, she borrowed $18,000 from him to pay off a debt. Queen Elizabeth attended church with Andrew, her second son, who was long ago dubbed “Randy Andy” by the British press for his playboy lifestyle, on August 11, in a purported show of support.
