Andrew: I let the side down
Did you sleep with Virginia Roberts? I have no recollection of meeting this lady
THE DUKE of York last night admitted that he “let the side down” over his friendship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein during an unprecedented television interview.
Following years of scrutiny over his links to the billionaire financier, Prince Andrew conceded for the first time that his behaviour had “not been something that was becoming of a member of the Royal family”.
Asked about repeated allegations that he had sex with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a 17-year-old, in 2001, the Duke replied that he had “no memory” of ever meeting her.
Epstein was found dead in prison in the US in August while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Ms Giuffre, now 36, has since alleged that the Duke had sex with her three times when she was 17 and a sex slave for Epstein.
The interview with the BBC’S Newsnight was conducted earlier this week at Buckingham Palace with the approval of the Queen, and will be shown in full tonight at 9pm.
Royal sources said the Duke had made the decision to grant the interview in the hope it might “draw a line” under the scandal before his 60th birthday next year. He is understood to have overruled aides who warned the move was a “bad idea”.
In a clip broadcast last night, the Duke was asked by the BBC’S Emily Maitlis why he maintained a friendship with Epstein even after the paedophile financier was released from jail in 2010.
“I stayed with him and that’s the bit … as it were, I kick myself for on a daily basis,” the Duke replied.
“Because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the Royal family and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices, and I let the side down, simple as that.”
Maitlis asked the Duke directly whether he had sex with Ms Giuffre at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell, who is said to have acted as Epstein’s “madam”.
“[Giuffre] says she met you in 2001, she says she dined with you, danced with you at Tramp nightclub in London,” Maitlis said. “She went on to have sex with you in a house in Belgravia belonging to Ghislaine Maxwell, your friend. Your response?”
The Duke replied: “I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.”
Maitlis went on: “You don’t remember meeting her?” The Duke responded: “No.”
The Duke has been dogged by claims about his relationship with Epstein since the billionaire was unmasked as a paedophile more than a decade ago. Earlier this year, unsealed court documents disclosed that two of Epstein’s alleged sex slaves had accused the Duke of making advances on them. Images then emerged showing him at Epstein’s home in 2011.
A Channel 4 documentary last month disclosed that the Duke and Epstein met at least 10 times between 1998 and 2010, while Epstein had 13 different phone numbers for the Duke. US prosecutors are also said to be examining the Duke’s links to Epstein after seizing computers from the billionaire’s Caribbean island. Lawyers for
Epstein’s victims have demanded repeatedly that the Duke answer their questions and have threatened legal action. In recent months Ms Giuffre has given a series of interviews on US television accusing the Duke of lying about their relationship, once claiming: “He knows what he’s done.”
It has also emerged earlier this year that FBI investigators had secured a photograph showing the Duke with a 17-year-old Ms Giuffre. Friends of the Duke responded by casting doubt on the image, suggesting it must have been fake because he had “chubbier fingers” in real life.
Last night friends of Ms Giuffre said they believe the Duke’s decision to give the interview could be an attempt to head off legal challenges in the US.
But Palace insiders said he spoke out because he felt “paralysed” by his inability to defend his reputation.
One close aide told The Daily Telegraph that the scandal “turns over every day in his head”.
The aide said: “It was certainly the hardest thing he has ever done. For any of us to talk about this stuff no matter who you are, it would be difficult. It takes a huge amount of courage.”
The Telegraph understands the Palace had been planning to mark the Duke’s 60th birthday in February with a television interview, but it was eventually decided that he should address the allegations sooner than that.
The Newsnight interview was set up by Amanda Thirsk, the Duke’s private secretary. A Palace source close to the Duke said: “Amanda listened to people who had advised about the importance of addressing the allegations directly.
She felt that with something like this, TV would give an authenticity that might get lost in the written word.
“The interview was incredibly intense, it’s very raw. He was very honest, he was very clear, he showed a huge amount of humility and they were shocked by how candid he was.
“The Duke has said that it turns over every day in his head so he’s really relieved to have done it. He’s happy to have done it. He wants to go back to being judged on his work.”
Last night, Sarah, Duchess of York, described her former husband as a
‘He’s happy to have done the interview. He wants to go back to being judged on his work’
“giant of a principled man” in a fulsome tribute on Instagram.
In September, there were reports that Duke had employed Jason Stein, a former special adviser to Amber Rudd, to handle his PR, but Mr Stein is no longer working at the Palace. Ms Thirsk continues to handle the Duke’s publicity with the help of the Buckingham Palace press office.
A Palace spokesman said: “There has been a great deal of speculation in the media about the Duke’s former friendship with Mr Epstein.
“The Duke wished to take part in a broadcast interview in order to address these questions clearly and publicly.”
All the allegations against the Duke were struck from the court record in 2015 after being described as “immaterial and impertinent” by a judge.