Donald Trump commiserated with the Royal Ramily days after King Charles stripped Andrew Mountbatten Windsor of his titles in a stunning fallout over his years-long friendship with Jeffrey Epstein
Donald Trump has spoken out after former Prince Andrew lost his royal titles over ties to Jeffrey Epstein(Image: Getty Images)
Donald Trump has said he feels “badly” for the Royal Family after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his titles.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, the US president was asked about the King’s decision to remove his brother’s peerages following new disclosures about his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“I mean, it’s a terrible thing that’s happened to the family,” Trump said. “That’s been a tragic situation, and it’s too bad. I mean I feel badly for the family.”
The King’s brother was stripped of his Prince and Duke of York titles, losing his remaining royal privileges after the posthumous publication of a memoir by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims. Ms Giuffre accused Andrew of sexual assault and sued him in 2021. The case was settled out of court for a sum believed to be around £12 million. Andrew has denied the allegations and all wrongdoing.
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Buckingham Palace announced that Andrew would lose his titles and get kicked out of the Royal Lodge over his controversial friendship with the disgraced financier(Image: Getty Images)
Ms Giuffre, who took her own life earlier this year, had claimed that as a teenager she was trafficked by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions – allegations he has always denied. Her family welcomed the King’s decision to strip Andrew of his titles, saying: “An ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family, brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.”
Trump has also faced scrutiny over his past ties to Epstein. Following the financier’s jail cell suicide in 2019, he downplayed their association, saying he had “no idea” about the financier’s crimes.
But Ms Giuffre’s brother urged Trump to follow in the King’s footsteps by releasing the long-awaited legal files related to Epstein. “President Trump needs to put his big boy pants on and follow suit,” Sky Roberts said. “We need to back our government in a corner where their hands are tied to this, and they have to come forward and do the right thing.”
Trump offered his sympathy to the royal family while on Air Force One(Image: Getty Images)
Trump maintained a years-long friendship with Epstein, during which he met and was photographed with Mountbatten-Windsor. “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” Trump said in 2002, according to New York Magazine.
“He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
Before his death, Epstein once said of his former pal: “I was Donald’s closest friend for 10 years.” The pair reportedly fell out after Epstein allegedly “stole” Trump’s staff, including Ms Giuffre, who worked at Mar-a-Lago when she was 17. Epstein claimed it was over a property deal.
Andrew once socialised with Epstein and Trump at the president’s Mar-A-Lago club(Image: Getty Images)
While pressure continues to mount for the release of the Epstein files, Trump has dismissed the issue. “This is a Democrat hoax that never ends,” he said in September.
“Thousands of pages of documents have been given, but it is really a Democrat hoax because they are trying to get people to talk about something that is totally irrelevant to the success that we’ve had as a nation since I’ve been president,” he said.