When Prince Andrew Opened Up About His Relationship With Epstein: "I Kick Myself On a Daily Basis"

Before being freed on probation, Jeffrey Epstein spent 13 months in a US prison after entering a guilty plea in 2008 for obtaining a female under the age of eighteen for prostitution. He was detained in July on fresh federal accusations that he had trafficked females as young as 14 for sex. On August 10, while he was awaiting trial, he was discovered dead in New York's ultra-secure Metropolitan Correctional Center. The late sex offender had close royal ties with Prince Andrew, the second son of late Queen Elizabeth II. The Duke of York was introduced to Epstein by socialite Ghislaine Maxwell in the early 1990s. After Epstein's death, Prince Andrew gave an insightful interview to BBC's Newsnight for the first time in 2019 and delved deep into their scandalous relationship. 

As per The Daily Mail, the eighth in the line to the throne said he felt 'ashamed' about their connection only after learning about Epstein's pedophile activities. He said: "Do I regret that fact that he has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? Yes." He continued, "I’m being polite, I mean in the sense that he was a sex offender. But no, was I right in having him as a friend? At the time, bearing in mind this was some years before he was accused of being a sex offender." The Duke of York added, "I don’t there was anything wrong then, the problem was the fact that once he had been convicted I stayed with him and that’s the bit that, as it were, I kick myself for on a daily basis because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and I let the side down, simple as that."

Prince Andrew went on to defend himself after being photographed with Epstein at Central Park in New York in February 2011 right after the convicted sex offender was released from jail in 2010. "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. And I had a number of people counsel me in both directions, either to go and see him or not to go and see him and I took the judgment call because this was serious and I felt that doing it over the telephone was the chicken’s way of doing it."

When the host inquired about the royal not knowing about the financier's activities, he said, "As far as I was aware, they were staff, they were people that were working for him, doing things." On being asked why he connected with Epstein, the Duke said, "He had the most extraordinary ability to bring extraordinary people together." He continued, "I mean I don’t go into a friendship looking for the wrong thing if you understand what I mean. I’m an engaging person, I want to be able to engage, I want to find out, I want to learn." 

When the host inquired about Epstein's royal connection and how he got access, "He was brought right into the heart of the royal family at your invitation." Andrew responded, "But certainly at my invitation, not at the royal family’s invitation but remember that it was his girlfriend that was the key element in this. He was the, as it were, plus one, to some extent in that aspect." He concluded, "If there was in the right circumstances, yes I would because I think there’s just as much closure for me as there is for everybody else and undoubtedly some very strange and unpleasant activities have been going on. 'I’m afraid to say that I’m not the person who can shed light on it for a number of reasons, one of which is that I wasn’t there long enough."