Prince Edward has spoken out for the first time on the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and the accusations against his brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
On Friday (30 January), the Department of Justice released more than three million documents relating to the disgraced paedophile financier, weeks after the initial deadline.
The new trove of documents included photos and email exchanges linking several celebrities to Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting his sex-trafficking trial.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew and the Duke of York, has long faced scrutiny over his ties to Epstein.
The royal has faced damning allegations, which he has continuously denied, that he sexually assaulted the late Virginia Giuffre when she was a teenager after she was trafficked by Epstein.
In 2022, he paid an undisclosed amount to Giuffre, who died by suicide in April last year, to settle a civil sexual assault claim.
Prince Edward has broken his silence on the accusations against his brother Andrew (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Last year, King Charles III stripped him of his remaining royal titles, including his status as Prince and Duke of York. And now, Andrew’s name has appeared in the new document release hundreds of times, including in Epstein’s private emails.
For example, one email chain between Epstein and a contact who signs off as ‘A’ and ‘HRH The Duke of York’ discusses a meeting with a ‘beautiful’ Russian woman.
In the same month, Andrew also apparently tells Epstein: “Wish I was still a pet in your family.”
Andrew was also pictured in the files, crouched on all fours over an unidentified woman whose face has been redacted. Inclusion in the documents doesn’t suggest or indicate any wrongdoing.
Now, the Duke of Edinburgh, 61, who is Andrew’s brother and the youngest child of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, has become the first senior royal to speak out on the situation.
During the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday (3 February), Edward was asked how he was ‘coping’ since the US Department of Justice’s document dump on Friday.
Edward responded to the question by a CNN journalist by saying: “Well, with the best will in the world, I’m not sure this is the audience that is the least bit interested in that.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor was pictured in the latest Epstein files release (Department of Justice)
“They all came here to listen to education, solving the future, but no, I think it’s all really important, always, to remember the victims and who are the victims in all this.”
The comments also come just after Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, announced that her charity will close, days after new revelations emerged about the former duchess’s friendship with Epstein.
In one email exchange in August 2009, ‘Sarah’ thanked Epstein for ‘being the brother I have always wished for’, and she has ‘never been more touched by a friend’s kindness’.
Sarah’s Trust will close ‘for the foreseeable future’ after ‘some months’ of discussion, a spokesman said.
A spokesman for Sarah’s Trust said on Monday evening: “Our chair, Sarah Ferguson, and the board of trustees have agreed that with regret the charity will shortly close for the foreseeable future.
“This has been under discussion and in train for some months. We remain extremely proud of the work of the trust over recent years.
“We have partnered with over 60 other charities in over 20 countries, providing education, healthcare, crisis response and environmental projects.
“We delivered over 150,000 aid parcels during the Covid pandemic, provided medical aid and training for those affected by the war in Ukraine and delivered education for over 200 children in Ghana.”