London, Feb 1 : There is mounting pressure this weekend on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Britain’s scandal-hit former prince whose royal status was revoked by his brother King Charles III, to testify before a US committee investigating the extent of the crimes of convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein.
A second woman has alleged that she was flown to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with then Prince Andrew at his Royal Lodge residence on the Windsor Castle estate back in 2010.
Andrew, who has consistently denied wrongdoing, is yet to comment on the latest accusations.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was asked about the latest allegations involving the former frontline royal as he concluded his visit to Japan on Sunday.
“I have always approached this question with the victims of Epstein in mind. Epstein’s victims have to be the first priority,” Starmer told reporters. “As for whether there should be an apology, that’s a matter for Andrew. But, yes, in terms of testifying, I have always said anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that. You can’t be victim-centred if you’re not prepared to do that,” he said.
It follows years of controversy since Virginia Giuffre alleged that she was brought to London to have sex with the former prince in 2001 when she was 17. The second alleged victim, in her 20s at the time, who has come forward this weekend claims that after spending the night with the then prince she was also given a tour and had tea at Buckingham Palace in London.
Her Florida-based lawyer Brad Edwards, from the American firm Edwards Henderson who also represented Giuffre, now deceased, told the BBC that there were communications between his client and Andrew before their sexual encounter.
Andrew was stripped of his royal titles of Prince and Duke of York in October last year, following the publication of Giuffre’s posthumous memoir. It was also announced that he would leave Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate, which had been his home since 2004.
In the statement announcing the removal of the former prince’s titles, Buckingham Palace said: “These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”
Meanwhile, the Opposition Democrats in the US Congress want Andrew to depose before them to answer questions as part of their ongoing Epstein investigation.
On Friday, the US Department of Justice released over 3 million pages of documents related to the now deceased sex offender. It included an image of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over an unidentified woman lying on the ground, without any further details or context.
Some files also appear to suggest that Epstein had been helping Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife and the former Duchess of York, financially for 15 years.
