Prince Andrew has been marred by allegations against him following the exposure of his former friend Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring. The Duke of York has vehemetly denied all of the allegations against him.
The Duke of York was forced into stepping back from royal duties earlier last year following a disastrous Newsnight interview regarding his friendship with the paedophile.
Now, several sources have reported Prince Andrew, 60, wants to make a comeback to frontline royal life despite consistent public outcry regarding the allegations against him.
A source told The Telegraph: “He is thinking about how to best serve his country and will work with his family, advisers and stakeholders on what that will look like.
“He’s very sensitive to the public mood and acutely conscious that the public are the most important stakeholder.
“He feels he has support from the family, very much so, including all his siblings and his parents.”
Buckingham Palace has reportedly made it clear while the family supports him, a return to a public role could not be considered until the Epstein saga has come to an end.
Another royal insider also told the publication: “The Duke is still a son, a sibling, a part of the family and he has not been cast out.
“But when he stepped back from his public role ‘for the foreseeable future’ last November, it was over controversies concerning his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and they have not been resolved at all.
“In an ideal world, the family would love to see something change but the harsh reality is that there are a lot of hurdles to overcome first.”
Behind the scenes, the Duke has been attempting to rehabilitate his image following the disastrous interview with BBC journalist Emily Maitlis last year, which was ruined instantaneously.
The duke has been under significant pressure from US authorities to provide evidence relating to charges against Epstein, who died in prison last year.
The prince, who has always denied any wrongdoing, added: “I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein … Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.”
His former friend and Epstein’s aide Ghislaine Maxwell, is currently in prison in New York on charges of facilitating underage girls for Mr Epstein to abuse.
This has heaped further pressure on Prince Andrew who was named last week in unsealed court documents relating to the allegations.
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“All this still needs to be discussed with his family and then with other stakeholders – the government and Palace officials.
“It is his intention to return to public duties but none of this can seriously progress until the legal process in the US has been resolved and the Duke’s side of the story has been properly explained.”
Prince Andrew has consistently denied the allegations put to him by Victoria Roberts Guiffre, who claims she slept with the Duke of York when she was 17-years-old.
Ms Giuffre claims she was one of Epstein’s sex slaves and slept with Andrew three times — which he strongly denies.
