Prince Philip ‘exasperated’ by family’s troubles says expert
The Duke of York has been under fire for the last couple of years over his friendship with the late financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein killed himself in prison while facing charges of trafficking underage girls for sex, and now his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell has been charged with procurement and trafficking offences. Meanwhile, Andrew has also been accused by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an alleged sex trafficking victim of Epstein, of having sex with her three times when she was 17.
The Duke has vehemently denied the accusation.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts.
“Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”
Andrew recorded an interview with BBC Newsnight in November 2019, which was widely regarded as a car crash, and he stepped back from royal duties just days later.
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Prince Philip reportedly warned Prince Andrew about seedy billionaires (Image: GETTY)
Prince Andrew (second from left) and Jeffrey Epstein (far right) (Image: GETTY)
Ingrid Seward, Editor-in-Chief of Majesty magazine and royal biographer, claimed Andrew was warned by his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, about “seedy billionaires” like Epstein.
Pod Save the Queen is hosted by Ann Gripper and features Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers.
In an interview with Ms Gripper last year, Ms Seward said she thinks both the Queen and Philip must believe Andrew’s story that he is not guilty of a crime.
However, she claimed Philip will be “angry” and think his son has been “a complete fool”.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre holding a photograph of herself aged 17 (Image: GETTY)
Ms Seward said: “Presumably I think that both the Queen and Prince Philip must believe what their son has told them.
“I mean, obviously Prince Philip thinks Andrew has been a complete fool.
“And he warned him about being seduced ‒ if that’s the right word ‒ by seedy billionaires because always ‒ you know Philip’s very wise ‒ there’s a rich man around the corner who wants a prince as a friend, and is in some way or other prepared to pay for it.
“I don’t necessarily mean financially, although of course Epstein did help Fergie.
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Jeffrey Epstein royal timeline (Image: EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS)
“I think that he warned Andrew and I think he just thinks Andrew has behaved in the most ridiculous fashion.
“But I’m not saying he doesn’t believe that Andrew is innocent because I think every parent has to give their offspring the chance to say their bit.
“And we don’t know, but certainly Prince Philip would have absolutely rounded on Andrew and told him what a fool he was in no uncertain terms.”
Andrew, who was a long-time friend of Ms Maxwell, was introduced to Epstein through her.
Prince Andrew: Royal expert on ‘details’ of Jeffrey Epstein
He spent time at Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, his private jet nicknamed the Lolita Express and Little St James Island, where numerous girls were allegedly abused.
During their friendship, Epstein was also invited to several royal residences including Balmoral and Sandringham, and attended Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday party in 2006.
After Epstein came out of prison in 2010, Andrew was pictured with him in New York and stayed at his house for several days.
As Ms Seward referenced, Epstein also gave Sarah Ferguson £15,000 at one point to help cover her numerous debts.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell (Image: GETTY)
One of the most criticised aspects of the BBC Newsnight interview in 2019 was Andrew’s apparent callousness and lack of remorse he felt about his actions.
Ms Seward added: “As for Andrew’s behaviour, which is really what’s caused all the trouble is his apparent lack of remorse for how he behaved with these girls, well I don’t know what Philip thinks about that because I don’t know what Andrew’s told him.
“But all Philip will care about is the monarchy ‒ well, I’m not saying all he cares about is the monarchy ‒ but what he will care about is the damage that his son, through his own stupidity, has done, so he will be very angry.“
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