Andrew’s in calmer waters at regatta after sex scandal storm
PRINCE Andrew returned to work yesterday for an unannounced official engagement but avoided questions over a sex scandal.
The Duke of York has faced revelations about his friendship with the late paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
But he appeared relaxed yesterday as the patron at the 175th Dartmouth Royal Regatta.
His scheduled public appearance did not appear on the list of engagements on the Royal Family’s website, despite journalists’ inquiries.
Aides said they confirmed his role to callers asking on Thursday but insisted they did not routinely publish his engagements in advance.
Andrew, 59, trained at Dartmouth and has been patron of the regatta since 2000. He last visited it for its 150th anniversary in 1994.
The Duke, who returned from a golfing holiday in Spain earlier this week, has faced an onslaught over claims of his links to Epstein, who on August 10 was found hanged in a New York prison cell where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The hedge fund tycoon was convicted in 2008 of procuring a 14-year-old girl for prostitution.
Andrew, who remained friends with Epstein after his conviction, has furiously denied allegations that he slept with one young woman, Virginia Roberts Guiffre, when she was 17 and who says she was a victim of sex trafficking.
He apologised for what he has called an error of judgment in staying friends with Epstein but has insisted he knew nothing about any criminal behaviour.
Earlier this week, sources close to Andrew said a picture of him with his arm around her waist and alongside Epstein’s girlfriend, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, was fake.