In a new statement released on Saturday by Buckingham Palace, Prince Andrew admits that it was “a mistake and an error” to spend time with Jeffrey Epstein in 2010 after he was a convicted sex offender.
According to the release, Prince Andrew says he met Epstein in 1999, and “saw him infrequently probably no more than only once or twice a year.”
He also confirms that he has stayed at several of Epstein’s properties, but says that he did not “see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to [Epstein’s] arrest and conviction.”
“His suicide has left many unanswered questions and I acknowledge and sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure,” the Duke of York writes, before closing the statement with: “I deplore the exploitation of any human being and would not condone, participate in, or encourage any such behaviour.”
The statement was signed simply as ANDREW.
Read it in full here:
— Roya Nikkhah (@RoyaNikkhah) August 24, 2019
This is the third statement issued by the royal family regarding Prince Andrew’s relationship with Epstein this month. Observers believe the statement is a response to the increased media attention Prince Andrew continues to face over his association with Epstein.
On August 19, the Palace issued a statement saying that Andrew is “appalled” by Epstein’s alleged crimes.
That statement came shortly after a 2010 video of Prince Andrew inside Epstein’s New York City home was published by the Daily Mail.
At the time when the video was recorded, Epstein was already a convicted sex offender, who had served 13 months in a Palm Beach County jail after pleading guilty to two prostitution-related charges.
Just one day before Epstein was found dead by apparent suicide, a number of legal documents relating to his criminal case were unsealed, one of which included allegations about Prince Andrew.
When asked about the allegations by NBC News, Buckingham Palace gave the following statement:
“This relates to proceedings in the United States, to which The Duke of York is not a party. Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue.”
That is the same statement given to the Daily Mail when its reporter asked if Andrew was going to comment on Epstein’s death.
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