Duke of York ‘appalled’ by Epstein sex allegations
Questions grow over Prince Andrew’s relationship with Epstein as video shows him talking to young brunette
THE DUKE OF YORK last night reacted for the first time to the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal.
Speaking after new footage emerged of the 59-year-old royal staying in the disgraced financier’s flat in 2010, the Duke said he was “appalled” by recent reports.
In a statement released to The Daily Telegraph, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The Duke of York has been appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes. 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.”
Having appeared at church alongside his mother the Queen in Balmoral last weekend, the Duke was conspicuous by his absence at Crathie Kirk yesterday. He is currently holidaying in the Spanish resort of Sotogrande with his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York.
The statement followed the release of a video showing the Duke peering out from behind the door of Epstein’s £63million Manhattan mansion, waving goodbye to a brunette.
Less than an hour earlier Epstein had been seen leaving the New York property with a young blonde woman.
The footage is from December 2010, when the Duke, then the UK’S Special Representative for Trade, stayed with Epstein in his New York home – two years after Epstein was convicted of sex with a child and placed on the sex offender register. The Duke previously conceded he had made an “error of judgment’ after pictures emerged from the same trip of the pair in Central Park.
Buckingham Palace recently repeated their “emphatic denial” of allegations against the Duke made by Virginia Roberts, one of Epstein’s victims.
A spokesman said: “This relates to proceedings in the United States, to which the Duke of York is not a party. Any suggestion of impropriety with under-age minors is categorically untrue.
“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.”
PEERING out from behind the 15fthigh solid oak door, the Duke of York is seen to catch himself and check if anyone is watching as he waves goodbye to an attractive brunette.
And it may be little surprise that he was concerned that someone might spot him in the doorway of the £63million Manhattan mansion, as it belonged to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
A video of the encounter emerged as the Duke faced a growing list of questions over this association with the financier who died in prison in an apparent suicide earlier this month.
The Duke is seen in the video emerging in the imposing doorway of the New York building which Epstein’s victims have dubbed the “House of Horrors” to chat for a few seconds and then wave goodbye to an unnamed woman.
Before he closes the door he peers around it, apparently to see if anyone is watching.
Less than an hour earlier, Epstein had left the house in a thick fur-lined coat in the company of a young blonde woman who was wearing a thin jumper and appeared to be shivering.
Witnesses told The Mail on Sunday that the woman entering and leaving the house while the Duke was inside “looked very young indeed”.
The footage is from December 2010 when the Duke, then the UK’S special representative for trade, stayed with Epstein in his New York home.
Previously, pictures have emerged from the same trip of the pair walking together in Central Park.
The corridor in which the Duke stood to wave goodbye to the woman is said to contain a number of bizarre items, including a painting of Bill Clinton, the former US president, wearing the dress that Monica Lewinsky was famously wearing when she performed a sex act on him, and a chandelier with a life-size female doll hanging from it.
Two years before the video was shot, Epstein had been convicted of sex with a child and placed on the sex offenders register.
The emergence of the video came after prosecutors in the US said they were continuing their investigations into Epstein’s crimes and their attention had turned to his associates.
The source said that they had gone public with the footage to try and encourage other victims to come forward.
The Duke is braced for the release of further court documents in the coming weeks after being named in documents relating to Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite alleged to have “acted as a madam” for her lover Epstein.
She has repeatedly denied the claims. Video shot in 2010 shows Jeffrey Epstein leaving his Manhattan home. Later, the Duke of York is seen waving goodbye to a ‘young woman’ from mansion’s doorway
Buckingham Palace repeated their “emphatic denial” of allegations against the Duke made by Virginia Roberts, one of Epstein’s victims.
A spokesman for the Palace said: “Any suggestion of impropriety with under-age minors is categorically untrue.”
The Duke is currently on holiday in Spain with his former wife Sarah, Duchess of York.
The Metropolitan Police has refused to say whether it would look at requests by Ms Roberts to resume their inquiries into the allegations she made surrounding her time in London.
In 2015, detectives examined allegations that Ms Roberts – who now uses her married name Guiffre – was trafficked to London for sexual exploitation but they did not pursue a full investigation.
Less than an hour earlier, Epstein had left the house in a thick fur-lined coat in the company of a young blonde woman who was wearing a thin jumper