Prince Andrew admits his shame over friendship with Jeffrey Epstein but says ‘I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady’ Prince Andrew, named in court papers as part of a US civil case against Epstein, has denied claims of sexual impropriety with underage girls

The Duke of York has admitted that he “let the side down” through his continued association with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in a BBC interview.

Prince Andrew answered questions for the first time about his links to the disgraced financier in a special Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, conducted at Buckingham Palace, which will be broadcast on BBC2.

Maitlis asked the Duke why he continued his relationship with Epstein, who took his own life while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, after the businessman’s conviction for soliciting underage sex.

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Stumbling, the Duke replied: “I stayed with him and that’s… the bit I kick myself for on a daily basis ­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.”

‘I let the side down’

One of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Roberts – now Virginia Giuffre – said she was forced to have sex with the duke three times between 1999 and 2002, in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein, when she was 17. At that time she was underage according to Florida state’s law.

Asked directly about the claim that he had sex with Ms Giuffre in a Belgravia house belonging to the socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, the Duke said: “I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.” Pressed by Maitlis, who asks “You don’t remember meeting her?” the Duke says: “No.”

The Prince has been embarrassed by a widely reproduced photograph of him with his arm wrapped around the waist of Ms Giuffre.

At one point his friends suggested the image had been doctored.



Extraordinary BBC interview

Prince Andrew, named in 2015 court papers as part of a US civil case against Epstein, has denied claims of sexual impropriety with underage girls. He maintained that he had no prior knowledge of the financier’s behaviour.

However, further claims that he was present during orgies on Epstein’s private island, along with Ms Giuffre’s public accusations against the Prince, further damaged the Duke’s reputation.

The interview represents a high-stakes strategy for the Duke, who has come under increasing pressure to explain his association with Epstein. The Prince was not permitted to vet the questions, the BBC indicated.

French police renewed an appeal for witnesses and victims to come forward to assist with their Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Women have claimed they were assaulted by a modelling agent, Jean-Luc Brunel.

Transcript — What the Duke says

Emily Maitlis — One of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Roberts… has made allegations against you. She says she met you in 2001, she says she dined with you, danced with you at Tramp nightclub in London. She went on to have sex with you in a house in Belgravia belonging to Ghislaine Maxwell, your friend. Your response?

Duke — I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.

Maitlis — You don’t remember meeting her?

Duke — No.

***

Duke — The problem was the fact that once he had been convicted…

Maitlis — You stayed with him.

Duke — I stayed with him and that’s… that’s…that’s the bit that… that…that, as it were, I kick myself for on a daily basis 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.

‘Prince Andrew and the Epstein Scandal’ is on BBC2’s ‘Newsnight’ programme on Saturday at 9pm