Prince Andrew has admitted inviting convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to private royal residences, including Windsor Castle and Sandringham, during a BBC Newsnight interview. The Duke of York said Epstein was a guest at his invitation, not the Royal Family's, and described him as a 'plus one' to Epstein's girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The prince denied any sexual contact with Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17. He said he had no recollection of meeting her and described a photograph of them together as 'not a photograph of me touching her'.
Andrew said he first met Epstein through Maxwell in 1999 and saw him once or twice a year, using his houses when in the United States. He claimed Epstein had an 'extraordinary ability' to bring together academics, politicians and UN figures, and that his visits were about learning, not partying.
The interview covered Andrew's friendship with Epstein, who was convicted of sex trafficking minors in 2008 and died in prison in 2019. The prince said he regretted continuing their association after Epstein's conviction, calling it 'definitely the wrong thing to do'.
