Topics: Royal Family, Prince Andrew, UK News, Crime, Kate Middleton, Prince William, Jeffrey Epstein
The Prince and Princess of Wales have issued a statement regarding the ongoing revelations from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Kensington Palace has said.
It is the first time the views of William and Kate have been known about the crisis, which has engulfed the monarchy and Westminster, and their thoughts 'remain focused on the victims'.
William is en route to Saudi Arabia for the start of a three-day tour of the Middle East country, spending his first day with the Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Ahead of the visit, a Kensington Palace spokesperson said: "I can confirm that the Prince and Princess of Wales have been deeply concerned by the continued revelations.
Advert
"Their thoughts remain focused on the victims."
The statement comes after the United States Department of Justice's latest release of Epstein files documents last month (30 January).
Over three million documents were published relating to the disgraced paedophile financier, including photos and email exchanges linking a number of celebrities and public figures to Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting his sex-trafficking trial.
Andrew, formerly known as Prince Andrew, has long faced scrutiny over his ties to Epstein.
He's faced allegations, which he strenuously denies, that he sexually assaulted a teenage Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein.
He paid millions to Giuffre, who died by suicide in April last year, a woman he claims never to have met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022.
Despite those denials, King Charles III stripped him of his remaining royal titles late last year, including his status as prince and Duke of York.
Andrew’s name appears hundreds of times in the latest document release, including in Epstein’s private emails.
Among the claims are that a woman was sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew, and also that the former prince and Epstein asked an exotic dancer for a threesome in Epstein’s Florida home.
The latest allegation is that Andrew shared confidential reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Singapore in his role as the UK’s trade envoy.
Andrew, who has always denied any wrongdoing, finally left Royal Lodge for the Sandringham estate last week.
The Duke of Edinburgh was the first royal to publicly speak out since the Epstein documents were released, saying last week that it was important to 'remember the victims' when asked how he was 'coping' since the US Department of Justice’s document release.
