DUKE STAYED LOYAL TO EPSTEIN DESPITE PLEAS, FRIENDS SAY.
Prince Andrew insisted he was “loyal to his friends” when he was told to dump Jeffrey Epstein after the financier was convicted of underage sex, sources have claimed.
Andrew, the Queen’s son, is said to have accused a friend who warned him of the dangers of his association with the American financier of being a “puritan” and insisted he would not abandon Epstein.
The 59-year-old Duke of York has issued a statement saying he was “appalled” by reports of Epstein’s alleged crimes.
It read: “His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behaviour is abhorrent.”
The statement came a week after Epstein apparently took his own life while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. A video emerged on the weekend of the prince visiting Epstein’s Manhattan mansion in 2010, two years after the financier admitted having sex with an underage girl and was linked to the molestation of 36 others.
When pictures emerged at the time of Andrew, who was then a U.K. trade envoy, walking with Epstein in Central Park, royal aides were said to be tearing their hair out.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said last night: “The Duke has said that this was an error of judgment.”
The Duke was warned his friendship with the convicted pedophile had to end but he insisted that he would not abandon Epstein, sources told The Daily Telegraph. He quit his role as trade envoy after the fallout from the Central Park photos.
In 2011, a friend of the Duke’s told Vanity Fair: “After Jeffrey was convicted, I phoned Andrew and told him: ‘You cannot have a relationship with Jeffrey. You can’t do these things.’ And he said, ‘Stop giving me a hard time. You’re such a puritan.’
“Finally Andrew said, ‘Leave me alone. Jeffrey’s my friend. Being loyal to your friends is a virtue. And I’m going to be loyal to him.’”
When asked about the remarks attributed to the Duke, Buckingham Palace said that it did not comment on alleged comments made by members of the Royal family.
The Palace has issued strong denials over claims from Virginia Giuffre, who says she was Epstein’s “sex slave” and had sex with the Duke when she was 17.