Prince Edward has spoken out after further revelations about pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein’s close ties with senior members of the British Royal Family have emerged in recent days.

Fresh information on King Charles’ brother, who is now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor after having his royal titles stripped from him, were released by the Department of Justice on Friday, January 30.

Alongside a flurry of emails further showing Andrew’s close relationship with Epstein after his 2008 conviction, the latest release also revealed disturbing images of the red-faced former Duke of York kneeling over a young female.

With Andrew’s behavior continuing to plague the reputation of the British royals, his younger brother Prince Edward, now himself the Duke of York, has made a rare public comment about the issue after CNN’s Eleni Giokos asked how he is ‘coping’ at a policy forum in Dubai.

This is one of the images of Andrew released in the latest batch of files

Prince Edward at first, brushed off the question about his feelings by saying: “Well, with the best will in the world, I’m not sure this is the audience that is probably the least bit interested in that.

“They all came here to listen to education, solving the future.”

But in light of the scores of victims that have come forward alleging to have been trafficked to Epstein, as well as the horrific and systematic abuse of children emerging in the Epstein files, the prince went further.

He added: “But no, I think it’s all really important always to remember the victims, and who are the victims in all this, a lot of victims in all this.”

These first comments from a member of the Royal Family come at a seismic moment at the top of the British state, as it’s emerged that a number of leading figures continued to associate with Epstein after his conviction for child sex offences.

This includes then-Business Secretary and political fixer Peter Mandelson, whose 2024 appointment as the UK’s Ambassador to the US is sparking calls for a national enquiry after it emerged that he had shared secret government documents with Epstein in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis.

Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein pictured at the Royal Ascot racetrack in 2000 (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

But making matters worse for the royals is that the Epstein stain has spread beyond just Andrew, with his former wife Sarah Ferguson also being revealed as a confidante of the convicted pedophile, who she called her ‘pillar’.

A 2009 email purported to be from the former Duchess of York to Epstein states: “I have never been more touched by a friends kindness than your compliment to me in front of my girls.

“Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for.”

In another exchange, she congratulates Epstein on the arrival of a ‘baby boy’, even though there is no public record of the financier having any children.

Her and Andrew’s own children are also grimly mentioned in the disclosed files, with Ferguson apparently organizing for Princess Eugenie and Beatrice to see Epstein just days after he was released from prison for soliciting child prostitution, in July 2009.

In an email to his accomplice, the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein states ‘ferg and the two girls come [sic] yesterday,’ just a day after Ferguson had emailed: “What address shall we come to.

“It will be myself, Beatrice and Eugenie. Are we having lunch?”

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

An extract from Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s posthumous memoir has revealed harrowing new details of how she says she was groomed and sexually abused after being ‘recruited from Mar-a-Lago’ as a teenager.

In the book published after her death, the late 41-year-old recalled being just weeks away from turning 17 when she claims a car slowed down behind her on a sweltering Florida day. Working at the private Mar-a-Lago Club at the time, she says she had no idea that an ‘apex predator was closing in’.

Inside the car was British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, alongside driver Juan Alessi, who she would call John. Alessi testified under oath that when Maxwell spotted a ‘notably young’ Giuffre with ‘long blonde hair’, she shouted: “Stop, John, stop!”

“Hello,” Giuffre claims Maxwell said warmly, her British accent ‘reminding me of Mary Poppins’.

She says Maxwell invited her to meet a ‘wealthy man’ looking for a massage therapist to travel with him.

“Come tonight after work,” Maxwell reportedly told her.

Virginia Giuffre said she was just 16 years old when she was recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell to meet the twisted financier, Jeffrey Epstein (Virginia Giuffre)

That night, she says she was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein.

“You can just call me Jeffrey,” he told her.

What followed, Giuffre claims, was a carefully orchestrated ‘massage lesson’ that escalated into sexual assault.

“Only later would I see how, step by practised step, the two of them were breaking down my defences,” she wrote.

Giuffre alleges Maxwell guided her hands across Epstein’s naked body, brushing off any sign of discomfort.

“It’s important that you don’t ignore any part of the body,” Maxwell allegedly said during the encounter.

It only got worse from there, and soon after Epstein asked her to quit her job at Mar-a-Lago and come work for him ‘full-time’ – the catch was she had to leave her parents trailer and move into her own home.

Jeffrey Epstein and convicted child sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell worked together to exploit underage teens to play out sick fantasies (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Handing her $2,500, Giuffre claims he was nervous her mom and dad might get ‘suspicious’, ‘seeing me come and go at all hours’.

But just moments after handing her a wad of cash, she says he threatened her.

“Epstein must’ve sensed my qualms, because he walked around his desk, picked up a grainy photograph, and handed it to me. The image had been taken from some distance, but it was unmistakably my little brother. I felt a stab of fear,” she wrote.

“’We know where your brother goes to school,’ Epstein said. He let that sink in for a moment, then got to the point: ‘You must never tell a soul what goes on in this house.’ He was smiling, but his threat was clear. ‘And I own the Palm Beach police department,’ he said, ‘so they won’t do anything about it.'”

According to the memoir, this was the start of years of abuse – including encounters with powerful men in Epstein and Maxwell’s circle. One of the most high-profile allegations she details involves a night in London in March 2001.

In Giuffre’s posthumous memoir she details an alleged sexual encounter with Prince Andrew (Virginia Giuffre)

That night, Giuffre alleges she met Prince Andrew, Duke of York, who was 41 at the time.

“Guess Jenna’s age,” Maxwell reportedly teased, with Jenna being the name that Giuffre’s family called her.

After guessing correctly, Prince Andrew is alleged to have replied: “My daughters are just a little younger than you.”

Giuffre says they went to dinner and a nightclub before returning to Maxwell’s home, where she claims she was pressured to ‘do for him what you do for Jeffrey’.

She alleges the encounter lasted less than half an hour.

“The next morning, Maxwell told me: ‘You did well. The prince had fun,’” Giuffre wrote, claiming Epstein later handed her $15,000.

Prince Andrew has repeatedly and vehemently denied Giuffre’s allegations. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021, and Epstein died in jail in 2019.

UNILAD has contacted both Prince Andrew’s representatives and Buckingham Palace for comment.