Embattled Prince Andrew ‘unsure of condemning friend Maxwell’
PRINCE ANDREW is agonising over whether to condemn Ghislaine Maxwell after insiders admitted “this is not a good time to make enemies”.
The duke of York has declined to comment in the days since Ms Maxwell was arrested and charged with grooming underage girls and sex trafficking them for her former boyfriend, paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
According to reportage by
Britain’s ‘Daily Telegraph’, the duke is caught in a dilemma over how to proceed, as he tries to save his own reputation while facing the prospect of FBI questioning.
In an infamous BBC Newsnight interview at the end of last year, the prince was roundly criticised for failing to denounce his friend Epstein, who died in a jail in New York last August, while awaiting trial on further charges.
The British royal said he did not regret their friendship because he had met “useful” people through him, but a few days later admitted the association with Epstein was “ill judged” and apologised for it.
But Ms Maxwell has not yet been convicted and crucially could further drag the peer and others into the ongoing FBI investigation.
A source said: “Like Voltaire on his deathbed, who was asked by the priest to renounce the devil, he replied: ‘This is no time to be making enemies’.
“The same applies to Prince Andrew. He is damned if he does [condemn Ms Maxwell] and damned if he doesn’t.
“This doesn’t seem a good time for him to publicly come out and criticise her.”
Ms Maxwell (58) has been a close friend of Prince Andrew for about 30 years. ‘The Telegraph’ obtained and published a photograph at the weekend showing Ms Maxwell seated on the Queen’s throne at Buckingham Palace in 2002, after being taken on a private tour by Andrew.
Kevin Spacey, the actor, sat next to her on the duke of Edinburgh’s chair in the throne room.
Ms Maxwell is due in court Friday for her arraignment on four counts of grooming and child sex trafficking and two separate charges of perjury.
The FBI wants to interview Prince Andrew as a witness in the case and has requested assistance from the UK Home Office to facilitate this.
US prosecutors have accused the duke of refusing to help their inquiries, but his legal team say they have written five times offering to co-operate.