Prince William and Princess Catherine have shared a rare statement voicing support for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein amid the ongoing release of the Epstein files. The British royals shared the short missive this morning in an effort to distance themselves from their disgraced relative Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
“I can confirm that the Prince and Princess of Wales have been deeply concerned by the continued revelations,’’ the palace said in a statement (via The Associated Press). “Their thoughts remain focused on the victims.”
Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, was stripped of his titles by King Charles III in October following revelations about his relationship with Epstein. Last week, the British monarch forced his brother to vacate his longtime home at Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle.
The former prince has continually denied any wrongdoing; however, he was mentioned and pictured several times in the 3 million-plus pages of documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice recently. One of the mentions of Mountbatten-Windsor is a photograph of him with a woman who appears to be Virginia Giuffre, who alleged she was forced to have sex with him as a teenager.
Giuffre was one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers and also filed a high-profile sexual assault lawsuit against Andrew, which was settled in 2022. Giuffre died by suicide last April.
Mountbatten-Windsor originally stepped back from his public royal role in 2019 after he discussed his relationship with Epstein in a BBC interview. Giuffre’s memoir further detailed her allegations against Epstein, Andrew, and Ghislaine Maxwell. In her book, she wrote that Andrew “believed having sex with me was his birthright” and had arranged three meetings with her through Epstein, beginning when she was 17.
“In discussion with the king, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family,” Mountbatten-Windsor said when gave up his title as the Duke of York last year. “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.”
He continued: “With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
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