Topics: Prince Andrew, Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, Royal Family, Virginia Giuffre, King Charles III, Ghislaine Maxwell
Donald Trump has weighed in after the former royal Prince Andrew was stripped of his title amid Jeffrey Epstein allegations.
On October 30 last week, the Royal Family announced King Charles' brother, Andrew, would be stripped of all his royal titles and relocated out of his Windsor mansion.
The dramatic, historic move came amid swirling tensions over the Duke's 'value' for taxpayer-subsidised funds after he stepped down from royal duties in 2019, and as the scandal concerning his friendship with the late convicted pedophile snowballed.
It also comes as a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre was published on October 21, which documents the sexual abuse she faced at the hands of Epstein, encouraged by convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, and her time with the British royal.
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Now, President Donald Trump has commented on the situation, stating he feels 'badly' for the Royal Family.
Speaking on board Air Force One, the POTUS was asked what he thought about the British King formally removing all peerages from Andrew in the wake of the Epstein scandal.
"It's a terrible thing that's happened to the family," he said.
"That's been a tragic situation. It's too bad. I feel badly for the family."
Prince Andrew, who will now be known simply as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, had his prince and Duke of York titles removed by the monarch on Thursday last week due to his links to Epstein.
The final nail in the coffin appeared as Giuffre's book, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, was published last month.
In the memoir, Giuffre claimed she was paid $15,000 to have sex with Andrew when she was just 17 years old, an allegation which the former royal has always strongly denied.
When she sued him in August 2021, Andrew protested his innocence but settled the case outside of court for a sum around $15 million.
Giuffre, who tragically died by suicide at the age of 41 earlier this year, claimed she had sex with Andrew on three occasions after being trafficked by the billionaire financier and his then-girlfriend, Maxwell.
New emails came to light recently between the disgraced 65-year-old royal and Epstein, who took his own life while awaiting trial behind bars in 2019.
According to a report by Sky News, the former Duke sent the child sex offender a note via email in April 2010, months after he was released from prison for prostituting minors.
It reveals the pair met up in 2010, with a picture of the meeting also being published in New York’s Central Park in December, though Andrew claimed this was a meeting to ‘end’ their friendship.
In a statement on October 30, Buckingham Palace said: "His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence.
"Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.
"Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse."
It is understood Andrew will now have to give up his Grade II listed Royal Lodge and relocate into the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, which will be privately funded by the King.
