Prince Andrew speaks out about connections to Jeffrey Epstein
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre alleges Prince Andrew sexually abused her when she was just 17 years old; Bryan Llenas reports.
Prince Andrew and the royal family are responding to backlash once again after Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Guiffre gave a tell-all interview in which she renewed her claims that the Duke of York abused her when she was 17 years old.
Britain’s royal family continues to reel over the allegations against Queen Elizabeth’s son. Roberts, now 35, explained her claims about Andrew to BBC Panorama in great detail during a one-hour sitdown that aired Monday.
In a statement provided to Fox News, Buckingham Palace reiterated Andrew’s previous denial of Roberts' allegations in the wake of her latest interview.
“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.”
Photo from 2001 that was included in court files released last week shows Prince Andrew with his arm around the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre who says Jeffrey Epstein paid her to have sex with the prince. Andrew has denied the charges. In the background is Epstein's girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. (U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals)
The statement continued: “The Duke of York unequivocally regrets his ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein’s suicide left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims. The Duke deeply sympathizes with those affected who want some form of closure. It is his hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives. The Duke is willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.
“The Duke has already stated that he did not see, witness or suspect any behavior of the sort that subsequently led to Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest and conviction. He deplores the exploitation of any human being and would not condone, participate in, or encourage any such behavior.”
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However, Virginia Roberts' father, Sky Roberts, spoke on “Good Morning Britain” where he challenged Andrew’s denial.
“My feelings toward Prince Andrew is that he knows the truth and what he really did. I’ve seen the interviews, him denying everything,” Sky Roberts said, referencing Andrew’s disastrous BBC interview in November. “Apparently he’s not telling the truth and I think most of Britain knows that… I feel so sorry for my daughter, for everything she went through. At the time she was going through it, I had no idea… I love my daughter very much and she’s really brave to be going through all this and to come up against these powerful people.”
In the explosive tell-all interview, Virginia explained that she was working at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate as a locker room attendant when she was recruited by Epstein's on-again, off-again girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, to give Epstein massages.
Roberts then detailed her experiences of being trafficked by the couple, which included a trip to London to meet Andrew, now 59.
“I was sitting there like I was always told to do. Sit there, be quiet, be polite, laugh if someone says something funny,” she said. “I wasn’t chained to a sink, but these powerful people were my chains. I didn’t know what would happen.”
Roberts recounted visiting the exclusive Tramp nightclub with Epstein, Maxwell and Andrew, after which, Roberts claimed, she had sex with the royal at Maxwell’s London home. She was just 17 years old at the time.
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"It was horrible and this guy was sweating all over me," she recalled. "His sweat was like it was raining basically everywhere. I was just like grossed out from it, but I knew I had to keep him happy because that’s what Jeffrey and Ghislaine would expect from me.
"In the car, Ghislaine tells me that I have to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey — and that just made me sick. I just didn’t expect that from royalty. I just didn’t expect that from someone people look up to and admire.”
In a previous interview with the BBC, Andrew claimed he had “no recollection of ever meeting” Roberts, “none whatsoever.” He has since stepped down from royal duties “for the foreseeable future” because of his friendship with Epstein and the allegations of sexual wrongdoing with an underage girl. He says he is willing to cooperate with appropriate law enforcement inquiries if required to do so.
In Monday's interview, Roberts asked the British people to "stand up beside me, help me fight this fight, to not accept this as something that is OK."
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"This is not some sordid sex story," she said. "This is a story of being trafficked, this is a story of abuse and this is a story of your guys' royalty."
A lawyer for Maxwell, who has not been charged with any crimes, did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Fox News’ Stephanie Nolasco and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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