Prince Andrew’s public mourning deemed ‘insulting’ by Epstein victims
Prince Andrew has been accused of trying to ‘rehabilitate his image’ while mourning the loss of his mum, the Queen.
Prince Andrew should “mourn in private” and not use “the country’s grief to rehabilitate his image”, Jeffrey Epstein’s victims say.
The Duke of York stepped down from public life over his friendship with paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2019, The Sun reported.
But following the Queen’s death on September 8, the 62-year-old has appeared in public several times as he unites in grief with his family.
The disgraced duke said on Sunday (local time) he will forever treasure his “mummy’s compassion, care and love for a son” in an emotional statement shared publicly.
Florida-based lawyer Spencer Kuvin, who represented nine of Epstein’s victims, has said Andrew’s attempt to “rehabilitate his image” is an “insult”.
“On behalf of the victims, there is certainly empathy for a son losing his mother,” he told The Sun.
“What is insulting is the public nature of his attempts to rehabilitate his image through the grief of a country mourning over its Queen.
“No one is saying that Andrew should not grieve for his loss.
“But, given his past, that grieving should remain private, not the subject of public statements and military dress at funerals.”
Mr Kuvin, speaking on behalf of himself and the victims he represented, insists Andrew’s image will remain tainted by his connections to Epstein.
He said: “We must not forget that this is a man who was accused of having sex with a minor child, and who subsequently paid to resolve a claim brought by that child when she was an adult.
“Finally, this is a man who had the astonishingly poor judgment to admittedly remain close friends with a convicted paedophile.
“Unfortunately, that is the memory most people have when viewing him at events or reading his public pronouncements.”
The Queen’s disgraced second son paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case to a woman he claimed never to have met.
Virginia Giuffre sued him for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was 17 after she was trafficked by Epstein.
Andrew strongly denied the claims and has never faced any charges.
In January, ahead of his legal settlement, the Queen stripped him of all of his honorary military roles, including Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, and he gave up his HRH style.
The duke appeared in military uniform on Friday as he stood vigil by the Queen’s coffin after King Charles gave the green light for him to wear it.
Andrew was stripped of his military patronages and royal duties over his links with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
He was forced to wear a suit as he walked behind his late mother’s coffin on Wednesday.
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The former Royal Navy officer, who was also banned from saluting when the Queen was moved from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, wore medals instead, having retained his rank as a Vice Admiral.
But he was able to don his military colours as a “special mark of respect” to his mother as he, King Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward held a moving vigil at Westminster Hall on Friday, where Her Majesty lies in state.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
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