US President Donald Trump has admitted he feels bad for the Royal Family in the wake of controversy surrounding former prince Andrew.
King Charles III last week initiated the process to remove the “style, titles and honours” of Andrew following mounting pressure over his connection to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew’s “prince” title has been removed, and he is now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
He had also already stopped using the title “Duke of York”.
The 65-year-old will move into alternative private accommodation after being served formal notice to surrender his lease at Royal Lodge.
On Monday, US time, President Trump weighed in to the development which has come just weeks after he and First Lady Melania travelled to the United Kingdom for a state visit, where he was hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla.
“I feel very badly. I mean, it’s a terrible thing that’s happened to the family,” President Trump said on Air Force One in response after being asked for his thoughts on the update.
“That’s been a tragic situation, and it’s too bad. I mean, I feel badly for the family.”
President Trump has been forced to battle his own pressure over the Epstein saga, with the US leader having previously shared a friendship with the financier.
The President has faced relentless calls for files relating to the Epstein case to be made available to the public.
It has since emerged that the Royal Family’s statement included a message that had been removed by Andrew in every statement the Buckingham Palace had released on his behalf since it was announced he would be stepping back from public duties in 2019, after an embarrassing BBC interview about his relationship with Epstein.
Last week’s statement was the first to address “victims” of abuse.
“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse,” the statement said.
An insider told The Times every time the Duke of York had been sent a draft of the message from the Palace for approval, it returned with mentions of the victims removed.
“There has long been a sense from the family that the voices of the victims needed to be heard in these pronouncements, because they feature so heavily in this saga and because there is no credible way the Queen and the Duchess of Edinburgh can continue to do the work they do in the areas of sexual abuse if they can’t point to that,” the source said.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.skynews.com.au ’
