Prince Andrew is stepping down from royal duties, as the fallout from his friendship with billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his disastrous interview to try and explain said friendship continues.
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In a statement issued this morning, the Duke of York said he had asked his mum (Queen Elizabeth) if he could step back from public duties “for the foreseeable future”, and unsurprisingly, she said yes.
“It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support,” Andrew said.
“I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein.”
Charities and universities have been distancing themselves from Andrew following his trainwreck interview with BBC’s Newsnight, which has been described as “plane crashing into an oil tanker, causing a tsunami, triggering a nuclear explosion level bad.”
One of the low points of the interview was Andrew refuting the account of Virginia Giuffre, a woman who says she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew on three occasions, including twice when she was 17. Andrew claimed Giuffre’s account of them dancing while he was “profusely sweating” couldn’t possibly be true, as he apparently has a medical condition which prevents him from sweating. The next day, pictures of a distinctly sweaty Prince Andrew dancing with a woman who was licking his face hit the British tabloids, and here we are.
Another key criticism of Andrew’s interview was that he offered little, if any, sympathy for Epstein’s victims, an error he rectified in today’s statement.
“[Epstein’s] suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure,” Andrew said.
“I can only hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives. Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.”
Investigations into allegations of sex trafficking are continuing in New York, despite Epstein’s death in prison in August, which has been ruled a suicide.
High profile lawyer Gloria Allred, who is representing five of Epstein’s victims, said the “right and honourable action” for Andrew to take would be to volunteer to be interviewed by the FBI and New York prosecutors.
“Prince Andrew has decided to enter the court of public opinion with this interview and people can decide whether to believe him or not,” Allred told The Guardian after Andrew’s BBC appearance.
“The most important part of this is the victims and very little was said about them in this interview. They were almost completely ignored.”
If you haven’t watched the interview yet, catch it below:
