Prince Andrew responds to Epstein sex scandal, pictured inside wealthy financier’s $113m Manhattan mansion
Prince Andrew has broken his silence over suggestions he participated in child sex acts along with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew has broken his silence over the Jeffrey Epstein underage sex scandal, saying he is “appalled” by the allegations.
It comes after pictures emerged of the Duke of York inside Epstein’s $113m mansion on Manhattan's Upper East Side nine years ago.
The Sun reports that the Duke of York was seen at the nine-storey home — dubbed the House of Horrors by many of Epstein’s victims — just after the wealthy financier was spotted leaving on December 6, 2010.
By then, Epstein — who reportedly killed himself by hanging in his prison cell last week as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges — had already been placed on the child sex offender’s register.
He spoke after missing Sunday Service with The Queen yesterday at Crathie Church, near Balmoral.
Andrew’s absence appeared abnormal as he was pictured in high spirits with Her Majesty last week, The Sun reports.
In a statement released to The Daily Telegraph, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The Duke of York has been appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes.
“His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behaviour is abhorrent.”
Photos released by Mail on Sundayshow the Duke peering out of the front door of the home on New York’s East 91st Street, waving to a young woman as she leaves.
Among those making claims against him was Virginia Roberts (now known as Virginia Giuffre), who has claimed Epstein used her as a sex slave.
She released a manuscript just hours before Epstein’s death, which added to more than 2000 documents of a lawsuit pending against the former financier and his pals.
Roberts has previously claimed she had sex with Prince Andrew three times - including at the millionaire’s US home - but her allegations were thrown out by a judge.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “This relates to proceedings in the United States, to which The Duke of York is not a party.
MORE: Epstein’s cause of death revealed
MORE: Aussie artist’s odd painting in Epstein property
“Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue.
“It is emphatically denied that The Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”
It has also emerged that the disgraced financier Epstein, who was 66, kept a secret diary detailing his friendships with the rich and famous as an “insurance policy”.
Meanwhile, the New York Post reports that Epstein was able to buy two pairs of small women’s panties from a jail shop while serving time for sex offences, according to bombshell new documents.
The convict bought two pairs of size 5 female underwear from Palm Beach County Jail’s shop in 2008 where he was serving time after pleading guilty to soliciting a minor for sex, according to jail logs.
The tiny panties were the most disturbing part of more than $3000 the paedophile spent while incarcerated for 13 months, according to the records obtained by the Miami Herald.
Why was Jeffrey Epstein allowed to purchase small women’s panties from the Palm Beach jail? https://t.co/XXVEawGhmY #PerversionofJustice
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) August 18, 2019
Epstein was able to buy the underwear because the stockade also holds items for female inmates, the paper states.
But it would surely raise questions as to why a convicted sex offender who wears sweatshirts ranging from XL to 3XL, and size-12 shoes, would want such small-sized female panties, the report stresses.
Epstein was allowed to leave the prison store in a chauffeur-driven car which took him to a downtown West Palm Beach office building for a 12-hour-a-day, six-day-a-week break from jail, according to the records where the convict was called a “client.”
He used that time to have sex with young women, a lawyer for some of the accusers has previously claimed.
The little time he spent inside jail, he would often have an unlocked cell door and almost unlimited access to a TV, according to the records, which showed him buying more than 800 cups of coffee.
The records show he had 69 doctors’ visits in six months — and so many chiropractor appointments he would sometimes go three times a week.
As well as being free to go to work, deputies were required to wear business suits and provide security for him, which he paid for, according to the Herald.
Captain Mark Chamberlain noted Epstein’s “unusual means” on the day the paedophile reported to jail, according to the report.
“His financial status lends itself to his being victimised while in custody and as such, he has been placed in special management,” Capt Chamberlain wrote in an email, according to the report.
“He is poorly versed in jail routine and society and his adjustment to incarceration will most likely be atypical. For the time being, I am authorising that his cell door be left unlocked and he be given liberal access to the lawyer room where a TV will be installed.”
It infuriated Assistant US Attorney A. Marie Villafaña, who complained that letting Epstein spend time in a private office “making telephone calls, web-surfing, and having food delivered to him is probably not in accordance with the objectives of imprisonment”.
The Miami Herald said Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office had not responded to the newly released records.
Pics reveal ‘fascinating’ Kate change
The Princess of Wales has been quietly showing off a major new look recently – and it reveals a massive change for the royal.
‘Humiliation’: Andrew’s brutal family snub
Prince Andrew was spotted leaving with his ex-wife just minutes before an important moment for his brother, the King.
Kate stuns at royals’ Christmas service
Kate Middleton glowed as she joined Prince William at a church service with their kids, nearly a year after her cancer diagnosis.