More than half a year after Prince Andrew stepped back from his royal duties, he is once again under the spotlight due to his links with the criminal sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The U.S. prosecutors now want to question the Duke of York over his friendship with the disgraced financier.
Now, what Prince Andrew has been really accused of and what is his connection to Jeffrey Epstein? As he is now, reportedly, the target of the pedophile's victims, take a look at where this issue all started.
The Accusations Against The Prince
The U.S. court papers alleged that Sarah Ferguson's former husband touched a woman while on his lap. There are also about 2,000 pages of a lawsuit, a defamation case that involved Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claimed that the prince slept with her three times, including when she was only 17, in London, New York, and Jeffrey Epstein's private island in the Virgin Islands.
These allegations about Prince Andrew were from the court record in 2015. A judge described the claims as "immaterial and impertinent," The Sun noted.
Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein's connection
Prince Andrew revealed he first met Jeffrey Epstein in 1999. The late disgraced American financier even called the duke "his best friend." It was the same year that the U.K. press revealed their friendship.
They, reportedly, went together to Jeffrey Epstein's private island, using the latter's private jet. Epstein and his alleged "madam" ex, Ghislaine Maxwell, also attended a party hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle in 2000.
Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell were also, allegedly, close. They were pictured together at a Halloween party hosted by Heidi Klum in New York in the same year. He even threw her a surprise birthday party at Sandringham, having Jeffrey Epstein as one of the guests.
The Controversial BBC Interview
Prince Andrew admitted that Jeffrey Epstein became a "constant sore" for him and his family. In the controversial bombshell interview with Emily Maitlis on BBC's Newsnight in November, he denied all the allegations made against him.
He said he had "no recollection" of ever meeting Virginia Roberts Giuffre, saying one of the alleged encounters in 2001 never happened as he brought his daughter, Princess Beatrice, to Pizza Express in Working for a party. However, the U.S. prosecutors now want to question him over the claim and his connection with Jeffrey Epstein.
Despite the disastrous turn out of the interview, BBC reported that sources close to Prince Andrew stood by his decision to set the record straight about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and counter all the allegations. He, allegedly, told Queen Elizabeth that the TV appearance was a success, while other insiders revealed he regretted not showing sympathy for Epstein's victims.
