(Newswire.net — November 23, 2019) — Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth’s son, has announced that he will be stepping back from royal duties after it was discovered he had ties with the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal.
He has stated that the sex scandal has become a major ‘disruption’ to the royal family, and has therefore asked the Queen to withdraw from Royal duties for the ‘forseeable future.’
The Duke has faced serious backlash after his friendship with the known sex offender was revealed after Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s accusers, claimed she was forced to have sex with the prince three times. The duke has always denied any form of sexual contact or relationship with her.
This is not the only link the Prince had with Epstein. The pair met in 1999, and Prince Andrew reportedly flew with Epstein to his private island Little St James in the US Virgin Islands. These two men have also met a number of times at various social events, all of which have been described as ‘straightforward’ and normal.
Allegations regarding Jeffrey Epstein began surfacing in 2005, when when the parents of a 14-year-old girl told police in Florida that Epstein had molested their daughter at his Palm Beach home.
He was then accused of paying girls under the age of 18 to perform sex acts at his Manhattan and Florida mansions between 2002 and 2005.
Perhaps the biggest issue facing Prince Andrew and his friendship with Epstein is that he continued to spend time with the sex offender after he was charged with one count of solicitation of prostitution (however was accused of much worse.) Prince Andrew continued to spend time with Epstein, such as inviting him to his Daughter’s birthday party.
In 2010, Prince Andrew once again met with Epstein and stayed at his house, where there was rumoured to be ‘many young girls’ at the house at the time, which the Prince declines he ever saw.
When he met Epstein in 2010, the prince told the BBC: “I said, ‘Look, because of what has happened, I don’t think it is appropriate that we should remain in contact.'”