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The damage done to the monarchy by the Prince Andrew scandal could have been avoided if royal courtiers acted sooner, author Nigel Cawthorne has claimed in his new book, Prince Andrew: Epstein and the Palace.
The author describes it as ‘well-known’ that Prince Andrew, now 60, ‘floundered in public’ during his years in the spot light, and goes onto say that courtiers had ‘let the Queen down for over four decades’, failing to ‘ guard the crown from the kind of turbulence it was in’.
Referring to the scandal that erupted when a picture first surfaced in 2011 showing Andrew with his arm around Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victim Virginia Roberts – just three months after the financier had been released from state custody on underage sex allegations – Cawthorne says the Duke should have stepped down at the time.
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The damage done to the monarchy by the Prince Andrew scandal could have been avoided if royal courtiers acted sooner, author Nigel Cawthorne has claimed in his new book, Prince Andrew: Epstein and the Palace (Andrew seen during his Newsnight interview in November)
Writing in the book, released this month, Cawthorne says: ‘The affair had dragged on since the picture with Andrew first appeared in 2011 and seemed to find no conclusion.
‘There was growing anger at Andrew among courtiers. In truth, it had been their job to guard the crown from the kind of turbulence it was in.
They let the Queen down for almost four decades, if not longer. It was well-known that the prince floundered in public.
‘A sabbatical from royal engagements in 2011 would have taken the prince out of the public eye. Instead, the court let headlines fester for the Queen and only acted after the prince’s Newsnight debacle.
‘If anyone’s apology to the victims and the Queen was overdue it was theirs.’
The author describes it as ‘well-known’ that Prince Andrew, now 60, ‘floundered in public’ during his years in the spot light, and goes onto say that courtiers had ‘let the Queen (seen in March) down for over four decades’, failing to ‘ guard the crown from the kind of turbulence it was in’
Andrew has come under increasing fire after US authorities wrote to the Home Office earlier this month to ask formally to interview him about his relationship with Epstein.
Nigel Cawthorne’s new book, Prince Andrew: Epstein and the Palace is out this month
In a sensational rebuttal, the Duke accused US prosecutors of breaking confidentiality rules and issuing ‘complete lies’ and refused to co-operate with them further until they extended an ‘olive branch’.
A source close the Duke has since shared Andrew’s alleged attempts to co-operate and help the investigation into Epstein.
Earlier this month, Virginia Roberts Giuffre branded Prince Andrew a ‘toad’ after the disgraced royal finally admitted that his failure to express sympathy on his car crash Newsnight interview was a ‘source of regret’.
Sharing her frustration, the alleged victim of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein said: ‘Oh the gull of this toad – he regrets the BBC interview but not his ‘friendship’ with Epstein because it gave him ‘great contacts’ and much more’.
Referring to the scandal that erupted when a picture first surfaced in 2011 showing Andrew with his arm around Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victim Virginia Roberts (pictured) – just three months after the financier had been released from state custody on underage sex allegations – Cawthorne says the Duke should have stepped down at the time
In the devastating interview aired in November last year the Queen’s favourite son failed to express any sympathy for Epstein’s victims, who were trafficked from as young as 14 years old.
Roberts is one of several women who have accused billionaire Epstein of sexual abuse when they were underage, and has spoken publicly about being his ‘sex slave.’
She has also claimed she had sex with Prince Andrew at the behest of his friend Epstein three times: once at Epstein’s New York apartment, once in the Caribbean, and once at the London home of Ghislane Maxwell, the American financier’s alleged madam, in March 2001.
Speaking about her first alleged encounter with Prince Andrew in London, Roberts said she was taken to Tramp Nightclub where she recalls dancing with the ‘sweating’ prince when she was 17.
A photo that shows Giuffre, Prince Andrew and Maxwell in Ghislaine’s apartment taken in 2001 has been widely circulated.
Prince Andrew has strenuously denied all of Roberts’ allegations and said he doesn’t even remember meeting her.
‘A sabbatical from royal engagements in 2011 would have taken the prince out of the public eye. Instead, the court let headlines fester for the Queen and only acted after the prince’s Newsnight debacle’, the author said
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