Prince William and his wife Catherine have expressed deep concern over the latest revelations linking Prince Andrew to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Kensington Palace said on Monday.
“I can confirm that the Prince and Princess of Wales have been deeply concerned by the continued revelations,” the palace said in a statement, adding that “their thoughts remain focused on the victims” of Epstein.
The statement marks the first public comment from the heir to the throne and his wife on the scandal since the latest release of Epstein files more than a week ago, as the monarchy faces continued scrutiny over the affair.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The palace statement follows renewed controversy over Prince Andrew’s close links to Epstein. King Charles III’s brother is under pressure to further explain his ties to the convicted sex offender.
Prince Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019 over the connections and following claims by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre that she was trafficked to have sex with him three times, including twice when she was 17.
King Charles III stripped his brother of his royal titles and honours late last year after Giuffre recounted the claims in shocking detail in a posthumous memoir.
Last week it emerged that a second alleged Epstein victim has claimed through her lawyer that the late US financier had sent her to Britain in 2010 to have sex with Prince Andrew.
Prince Andrew, who has strenuously denied any wrongdoing, was removed from his Windsor mansion home, just west of London, earlier than planned last week in the wake of the latest revelations.
The files released in the US included newly damaging evidence, including a lawyer’s letter alleging that Prince Andrew and Epstein pressured a woman hired as an exotic dancer for sex as part of a threesome in 2006.
They also contained photos of Prince Andrew kneeling over a clothed woman lying on the ground, and emails inviting Epstein to Buckingham Palace to talk in “private”.
Files reported on by UK media on Monday suggested Prince Andrew passed Epstein confidential reports while he worked as a British trade envoy more than a decade ago.
The Kensington Palace statement came as Prince William began his first official visit to Saudi Arabia with a meeting on Monday with host Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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