Britain’s Prince William and Princess Kate say they are “deeply concerned” by the revelations in files over the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, making their first statement on the issue.
“I can confirm The Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims,” a spokesperson for Kensington Palace said on Monday.
The statement was the first public comment from the heir to the throne and his wife on the scandal since the latest release of Epstein files more than a week ago and as the monarchy faces scrutiny over the scandal.
It follows a renewed furore over Andrew’s close links to Epstein, with King Charles III’s brother under pressure to further explain them.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was spotted riding a horse near Royal Lodge last week. (Reuters: Toby Melville)
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre claimed in her posthumous memoir that she was trafficked to have sex with the disgraced royal three times, including twice when she was 17.
He has repeatedly denied those claims but settled a lawsuit with Ms Giuffre in 2022.
She took her own life in Western Australia in 2025.
King Charles III stripped his brother of his royal titles and honours late last year after Ms Giuffre’s claims were published.
Last week it emerged a second alleged Epstein victim has claimed through her lawyer that the late US financier had sent her to Britain in 2010 to have sex with Andrew.
The ex-prince, who has strenuously denied any wrongdoing, was ousted from his Windsor mansion home, just west of London, earlier than planned last week in the wake of the latest revelations.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor moves out of Windsor home
The files released in the US included newly-damaging evidence, including a lawyer’s letter alleging that Andrew and Epstein pressured a woman hired as an exotic dancer for sex as part of a threesome in 2006.
They also contained embarrassing photos of Andrew kneeling over a clothed woman lying on the ground, and emails inviting Epstein to Buckingham Palace to talk in “private”.
Files reported on by UK media including the BBC suggested Andrew passed Epstein confidential reports while he worked as a British trade envoy more than a decade ago.
Trade envoys are usually barred from sharing sensitive or commercial documents under confidentiality rules.
The Kensington Palace statement came as William kicked off a first official visit to Saudi Arabia with a meeting on Monday with host Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Reuters/AP/AFP