LONDON – Six years ago, Former Prince Andrew’s reputation took a massive hit when his BBC interview about ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein turned into a public relations nightmare, making him a frequent target of internet mockery.
Despite mounting calls from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.S. lawmakers, and attorneys representing Epstein’s victims, Andrew seems hesitant to risk another public grilling to shed light on his knowledge of Epstein and his affluent circle.
Craig Prescott, a constitutional law expert at Royal Holloway, University of London, commented on the potential fallout from Andrew being questioned again. He noted, “If the Newsnight interview sets any precedent, there’s no telling what Andrew might say under far more aggressive scrutiny than he faced with Emily Maitlis in 2019. It’s hard to see how voluntarily doing so would serve Andrew’s interests.”
Pressure is mounting on Andrew to provide testimony as new documents from the U.S. Justice Department investigation into Epstein reveal further troubling connections between the two men. Attorney Gloria Allred, representing many of Epstein’s victims, insisted Monday that Andrew must share any knowledge that could aid investigators in uncovering the full extent of Epstein’s abuse and the involvement of others.
However, Andrew’s previous attempt to address questions about his friendship with Epstein ended in catastrophe.
The outcome was far from favorable.
After the 2019 interview with Maitlis, Andrew was pilloried for offering unbelievable explanations for his continued contact with Epstein following the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution, and for failing to show empathy for the victims.
Last fall, King Charles III stripped Andrew of his royal titles, including the right to be called a prince, as he tried to insulate the monarchy from the continuing revelations about his younger brother’s relationship with Epstein, which have tarnished the royal family for more than a decade. The former prince is now known simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Andrew has also been ordered to vacate Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle that has been his home for more than a decade.
Good luck with asking him testify
Mountbatten-Windsor has little to lose by ignoring calls for him to testify, and U.S. authorities will find it hard to compel him to appear before Congress, said lawyer Mark Stephens, who handles international and complex cases at Howard Kennedy in London.
“There will be huge pressure and calls for him to (testify), but I don’t think that even if he gets there, even if he gives evidence, it’s going to reveal anything meaningful,” Stephens said. “I would fully expect him to take the fifth, as Americans say, the privilege against self-incrimination. And so I don’t think, beyond his name, he’s going answer any of the questions either by turning up or not turning up.”
Documents released on Friday suggest that Epstein sought to arrange a date between Mountbatten-Windsor and a “beautiful’’ 26-year-old Russian woman, and that the former prince offered Epstein dinner at Buckingham Palace. They also revealed emails sent by Sarah Ferguson, Mountbatten-Windsor’s ex-wife, in which she called Epstein a “legend’’ and “the brother I have always wished for.’’
Documents do not show wrongdoing by many of those named; their appearance in the files reflects Epstein’s extremely wide reach.
Not sharing what he knows
Mountbatten-Windsor has previously demonstrated caution about talking to U.S. authorities.
After he stepped away from royal duties in 2019, Mountbatten-Windsor announced that he was willing to help “any appropriate law enforcement agency” with its investigation into Epstein.
But documents released last year showed how 10 months of negotiations between Mountbatten-Windsor’s lawyers and federal prosecutors failed to secure his testimony.
Attorneys for the king’s brother ultimately rejected proposals for their client to be directly interviewed by the prosecutors, either in person or by video. Instead, they proposed that he give his answers in writing, something they said was perfectly acceptable in British courts.
Finally, on Sept. 23, 2020, the prosecutors gave up on the idea of securing a voluntary interview and said they planned to start the formal process of asking the British courts to compel Andrew’s testimony under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the two countries. There is no indication that interview ever took place.
Allred said the testimony is important for Epstein’s victims.
While Mountbatten-Windsor has said he doesn’t know anything about Epstein’s crimes, the documents released by the Justice Department show that he has at least some understanding of the parties Epstein hosted, and how he used young women to influence his network of wealthy, powerful friends, Allred told the BBC.
“He’s not the one who should decide whether he knows anything that could help in the investigation,” she said. “I am saying it’s not too late, and he does have information that he can share that may help them.”
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