Sounds of silence greet Prince Andrew’s arrival

There were none of the teeming, flag-waving crowds that have accompanied other royal visits to Australia.

Prince Andrew is met by the provost of Murdoch University, Professor Romy Lawson, right, on arrival at Murdoch University in Perth. Picture: AAP

She did but see him passing by.

As Prince Andrew visited Perth’s Murdoch University on Wednesday, half a world away from London but still unable to escape scrutiny of his relationship with dead billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, there were none of the teeming, flag-waving crowds that have accompanied other royal visits to Australia.

Instead, as the prince made his way up a flight of stairs to Murdoch’s main courtyard, his arrival was witnessed by a crowd of one: Perth schoolteacher and self-­proclaimed “royal hunter” Renae Grljusich-Poolman.

The prince shook hands and shared a joke with Murdoch provost Romy Lawson and briefly took in a view of the courtyard’s eucalypts before disappearing into one of the university’s buildings.

Aside from the media contingent, secured a safe distance away behind a red velvet rope, few in the courtyard noticed his presence. Ms Grljusich-Poolman took photos, before saying she wasn’t surprised by the small turnout.

“It is disappointing. I do think it has marred his credibility,” she said of the ongoing scrutiny around the prince and Epstein.

The visit to Perth came just days after London’s Sunday Times revealed the FBI would look into Andrew’s links to Epstein as part of its ongoing investigation of the latter’s crimes. The prince has vehemently denied the allegations.

The prince arrived in Perth on Monday.

He was at Murdoch for the latest Pitch@Palace competition, which helps introduce entre­preneurs to potential supporters, investors and partners.

He is the event’s patron. Its promotion has been wound back this year amid the Epstein saga.

A spokeswoman for Murdoch said the university was hosting the event because of the opportunity it provided to the start-up sector.

Epstein killed himself in a New York jail in August after being arrested over alleged child sex trafficking.