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Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Kate, said on Monday they were deeply concerned by the revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein files amid further damning disclosures about the heir-to-the-throne’s uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as police assess whether to formally investigate the former royal.
Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles who had already been cast out of the royal inner circle over his close relationship with Epstein, has faced fresh scrutiny since the recent publication of millions of new documents relating to the late convicted U.S. sex offender.
While Charles and his wife, Camilla, said in October that their thoughts and sympathies were with the victims and survivors of abuse, Monday’s comment by the Prince and Princess of Wales is the most pointed message so far delivered by the Royal Family on the Epstein scandal.
“I can confirm the prince and princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations,” a spokesperson for William and Kate told reporters ahead of the prince’s arrival in Riyadh for a high-profile trip. “Their thoughts remain focused on the victims.”
Mountbatten-Windsor was forced to quit all official royal duties in 2019 over his ties with Epstein and, in October, King Charles removed his title of prince. Last week, he was forced to move out of his royal mansion.
In 2022, he settled a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre that accused him of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager, through her association with Epstein. Giuffre died by suicide last April.
An email in the Jeffrey Epstein files believed to have been written by Ghislaine Maxwell appears to confirm that a photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with his arm around Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexual abuse, is real.
The 65-year-old second son of the late Queen Elizabeth has always denied any wrongdoing and has not responded to requests for comment since the latest release of Epstein files.
While the Royal Family has attempted to distance itself from Mountbatten-Windsor, he remains a thorn in their side.
“Charles, how long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?” a man shouted recently from the crowd as the King arrived in Clitheroe, northern England, the second time he had been heckled in a week.
In the latest batch of files released in the U.S., emails suggest he shared official British trade documents with Epstein in 2010, after Epstein’s conviction for child sex crimes, leaking information from his then-official role as a government envoy.
The documents appear to show that Andrew forwarded Epstein reports about Vietnam, Singapore and other places he had been sent to in relation to an official trip.
Trade envoys are usually barred from sharing sensitive or commercial documents.
Former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is facing more scrutiny after a new tranche of Epstein files uncovered questionable photos and the BBC aired new allegations from a woman linking the two men.
Thames Valley Police said the issue had been reported to them and that they were assessing whether to formally investigate, “in line with our established procedures.”
Last week, police said they were reviewing a new allegation against Andrew, triggered by the latest files, involving a woman being taken to an address in Windsor near London, where he has lived on the royal estate.
Over the last 10 days, revelations from the files have also engulfed Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in what is widely viewed as the biggest crisis of his premiership, for having appointed Peter Mandelson, an acquaintance of Epstein, as ambassador to the U.S.
Like Andrew, it appears Mandelson shared sensitive government files from 2009 and 2010 with Epstein, and police are investigating claims of misconduct in public office.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cbc.ca ’
