High Stakes TV Interview Backfires on Duke of York

"No memory" of photo- says it's a fake

A scandal has been simmering across the pond over Prince Andrew's personal relationship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein (who died in August under mysterious circumstances while in prison, awaiting trial).  In a surprise move, the "Party Prince" agreed to a TV interview with BBC reporter Emily Maitlis-- obviously hoping that it would quell the controversy.  Well, he was so, so wrong. 

Prince Andrew’s bizarre defense that he chose to stay at convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s home because it was “convenient” and “honorable” has gone down very badly in the court of public opinion.  And now his defense of their relationship and his explanations for where he was on key dates when he is alleged to have had sex with women procured by Epstein has met similar derision.

The prince was confronted about his relationship with the disgraced financier-- why did he visit him in New York in 2010, despite knowing Epstein had been convicted of sex offenses against underage girls?  Did he know Epstein was still committing crimes against children then?  And had he himself had sex at several of Epstein’s houses with Virginia Giuffre (then known as Virginia Roberts) when she was 17?  She claims in court papers she was trafficked and forced to have sex with the prince.

Andrew seemed unconcerned by the seriousness of the matter, laughing and smiling at several points during the interview--  including when Maitlis reminded him that Epstein was dead--  and expressed no regrets or concern about Epstein’s victims.

No, the duke said repeatedly-- he had not slept with Giuffre/Roberts. “I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.”  He later added: “It just never happened”, saying: “I am not one to, as it were, hug, and public displays of affection are not something that I do.”   When asked about her claims to have had sex with him at the house of Ghislaine Maxwell, a friend of the prince, in Belgravia, central London, he said "there are a number of things that are wrong with that story".  When asked about a photograph of him and Giuffre being taken at Ghislaine Maxwell's house, he said he had "absolutely no memory" of it.  He further claimed that his own investigators have been unable to determine that it was a fake.

The day after the interview, videos and photos emerged showing Prince 'I-don't-go-partying-or-do-public-affection' Andrew doing plenty of both at wild parties on the French Riviera in 2007.   The video and photos see the Prince enjoying the attention of a string of beautiful women, looking sweaty and disheveled.

Randy Andy with socialite Chris Von Aspen in 2007

His relationship with Epstein was based entirely on the fact that he was the boyfriend of the prince’s university friend Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of the late newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell. Epstein was “a plus one” who was invited to various royal events. It had been “beneficial” to know him, he told Maitlis, in one of several exchanges that provoked astonishment from viewers.

She asked if he felt any “guilt, regret or shame” about his behavior or friendship with Epstein.  The prince said that he did not. He said only that it was “the wrong decision to go and see him in 2010”.  He went on: “Do I regret the fact that he has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? Yes...”

Maitlis interrupted, with visible amazement: “Unbecoming? He was a sex offender!”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, I’m being polite – I mean in the sense that he was a sex offender,” the prince replied, before continuing his justification for remaining in contact with Epstein until 2010.

After Epstein was release from jail in 2010 (serving time for solicitation of prostitution), Prince Andrew went to visit him in his New York mansion in December that year.  Challenged on his decision to stay at the home of a convicted sex offender, he said: "I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together."  He stayed several days and attended a dinner party, however. "It was a convenient place to stay," he said, but added "with a benefit of all the hindsight that one can have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do".  The duke denied an account by another guest that he had been seen receiving a foot massage from a Russian woman.

The prince insisted that, as patron of the NSPCC’s Full Stop campaign, he “knew what things to look for” when it came to sexual abuse.  But later in the interview, when asked about his time in Epstein’s properties, he said there was “absolutely no indication” that anything was going on.  Epstein must have concealed his activities, the prince explained, and suggested that his status as a member of the royal family meant he was used to “members of staff” being around the building.

The prince’s answers are likely to ensure he remains in the headlines for the conceivable future, and several commentators have condemned his approach.  Catherine Mayer, founder of the Women’s Equality Party, tweeted that the prince was “too stupid to even pretend concern for Epstein’s victims.”

Charlie Proctor, editor of the Royal Central website, said: “I expected a train wreck.  [The Prince's interview] was a plane crashing into an oil tanker, causing a tsunami, triggering a nuclear explosion level bad.”

The Sunday Times of London reported that a source close to Queen Elizabeth said the interview would “go down as one of the single worst PR moves in recent history.”  In fact, Andrew's own public relations guru, Jason Stein, walked off the job two weeks ago when he couldn't persuade his royal client from agreeing to the interview. 

Virginia Giuffre’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment but she re-tweeted a comment from Peter Barton (former editor of the Northern Echo) that said, “Astonishing decision by the royal family to go ahead with this Prince Andrew confessional interview in the hope it would [end all discussions about] the scandal.  It will have the opposite effect.”

Giuffre’s lawyer, Jack Scarola, told reporters that the prince should agree to an interview “under oath” instead of giving statements to the media that carry “little weight”.

He said: “I believe there is an ongoing investigation in New York by the FBI under the supervision of the US Attorney’s office into those involved in facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse.

“I would love to see Prince Andrew submit to an interview under oath with the investigating authorities. Talking to the media doesn’t quite cut it. Statements that are not under oath carry little weight.”