Britain’s Prince Andrew laments that he let the Royal Family down by staying with the late financier and sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein after his 2008 conviction.
In an interview with the BBC, which aired clips of the interview ahead of its full release Saturday, Prince Andrew spoke to the news outlet at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
"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,” he said.
He also said he did not recall ever meeting one of Epstein's accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has said she was forced by Epstein to have sex with Prince Andrew.
“I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever,” the prince told the BBC.
His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, tweeted her support for him on Friday, describing Prince Andrew as a true and real gentleman.
"It is so rare to meet people that are able to speak from their hearts with honesty+pure real truth, that remain steadfast and strong to their beliefs," she tweeted along with four photos of the British royal.
"Andrew is a true+real gentleman and is stoically steadfast to not only his duty but also his kindness + goodness.”
Prince Andrew was named in court documents released in August that related to a 2015 defamation lawsuit filed by one of Epstein’s alleged victims against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who was among Epstein’s closest associates.
The Duke of York, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, has previously said he first met Epstein in 1999 stayed at a number of his residences, but saw him infrequently.
"At no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction," Andrew said in an August statement, NBC News reported.
"I have said previously that it was a mistake and an error to see him after his release in 2010 and I can only reiterate my regret that I was mistaken to think that what I thought I knew of him was evidently not the real person, given what we now know."
Epstein, 66, died by suicide in a federal prison cell in Manhattan in August after his arrest on sex trafficking charges. He faced up to 45 years in prison if convicted of allegations that he sexual abused dozens of girls as young as 14 at his homes in New York and Florida from 2002 to 2005. He pleaded not guilty.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.