‘King Charles must speak out over Prince Andrew’s links to paedo pal Epstein’, demands top lawyer

In a direct message to his majesty, famed US attorney Gloria Allred told him: “We can handle the truth, and the public deserves the truth” over Prince Andrew’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein

Famed US lawyer Gloria Allred wants the King to speak out about brother Prince Andrew’s friendship with paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein (Image: BBC/Getty)

King Charles has been humiliatingly dragged into his brother Prince Andrew’s Jeffrey Epstein scandal after a lawyer for victims demanded the monarch speak out.

In a direct message to his majesty, famed US attorney Gloria Allred told him: “We can handle the truth, and the public deserves the truth.” The demand came as Andrew appeared on Wednesday to treat himself to a £100,000 birthday present as he was pictured driving a new special royal Range Rover as he turned 65. The vehicle has sparked a backlash from critics demanding to know why he is still permitted to drive such a 4×4 fitted with blue emergency lights despite being stripped of his police protection.

Ms Allred spoke out after an email written by the Duke of York recently emerged indicating he may have lied over the ending of his friendship with his paedophile pal. During his car crash BBC Newsnight interview, Andrew went to great lengths to stress the only reason he was pictured with Epstein in December 2010 was to break off all ties in person. He stressed he had no contact with him ever since.

Prince Andrew’s failure to speak with the FBI over his friend Jeffrey Epstein has left a lawyer asking King Charles to speak(Image: Getty Images)

The Duke said he did so after learning of the sexual abuse allegations and the financier’s 2008 jail sentence over his conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. But last month, it emerged that Andrew had emailed the sex offender eight weeks later. “Keep in close touch, and we’ll play some more soon!!!!” the email read. Now Ms Allred has hit out, demanding the monarchy come clean about Andrew’s friendship with Epstein as she fails to believe his brother’s version of events.

“My sense is they would all (the royal family) like it to end, but this is a drip, drip drip of information is like a water torture test,” she told the Mirror. “My guess is that this is not going to be the last time we hear something, a quote or evidence, not necessarily evidence admissible in a court of law, but evidence, at least in the court of public opinion or some questions raised and then not answered. It’s just going to go on like this.”

Turning to the King, Ms Alred then added: “Perhaps by showing sympathy for victims of sexual violence, whether it’s domestic or by a stranger, that maybe they’re trying to say, ‘Look, that’s not who we are. We do care’. And maybe they do. I don’t know. But the king should come out and say ‘We do care about victims. This is what we believe. We want to help them.’ Surely, that is the public image they would like to have. That’s the message they would like to send.”

The attorney, who has fought for women’s rights for decades, then turned to Andrew’s email to Epstein that was uncovered in a filing by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is currently defending an appeal by Jes Staley, the former chief executive of Barclays Bank.

At the wheel of a new £100,000 Range Rover, Prince Andrew was spotted in the specially fitted vehicle on his 65th birthday (Image: Bruce Bennett)

In 2023, the American, 68, was fined £1.8 million and banned from senior management positions in financial services. Staley was sanctioned for misleading regulators about his ties to Epstein, and the evidence submitted in his case has now dragged Andrew back into the spotlight.

Ms Allred said: “It’s very disturbing that quote. This quote, if it was written by Prince Andrew, does not sound like it was from a person who had ended a relationship with Epstein. To the contrary, it sounds as though it was from a person who intended to keep his relationship alive with Jeffrey Epstein and whose relationship was social, although it may have had a business aspect as well. What does ‘we’ll play some more soon’ mean? Does it mean that they will party together? It doesn’t say we’ll play golf.

She continued: “It doesn’t appear to take seriously that Jeffrey Epstein had been convicted in 2008 in the United States for procuring a minor for prostitution. My guess is that we will only know who emailed that if depositions are taken and or Prince Andrew decides to speak with New York investigators or prosecutors. However, we don’t know if there is still interest by the FBI or prosecutors in speaking to him because there is a new United States attorney appointed by Trump who may or may not be interested in interviewing Prince Andrew.”

As Ms Allred hit out, the Duke – stripped of his royal duties by the late Queen due to his ties with Epstein – was photographed close to his Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor driving his new specially adapted vehicle. It is illegal for the public to fit blue lights to their car, but all members of the Royal Family have a special dispensation so that the vehicles can be used for official engagements and police convoys. However, as Andrew is no longer a working Royal, there are few scenarios – other than state funerals or coronations – where he or his private security team would be allowed to use the lights.

His Range Rover is often trailed by his private security detail in a £60,000 Land Rover Discovery. It has left critics baffled that, despite his dramatic fall from grace, he continues to receive such privileges. The pictures emerged as Ms Allred then urged the investigation into Epstein to continue demanding the Duke speak to the FBI after years of stonewalling their requests.

Famed US attorney, Gloria Allred, who represents victims of Jeffrey Epstein, called on King Charles to speak out(Image: NBC)

She added: “Prince Andrew needs to be under oath as he would be in a deposition and required to tell the truth as he would be if he were speaking to law enforcement in the United States. But I am sceptical that we will ever know the answers to these important questions. There is a cloud over Prince Andrew because of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and I doubt that it will ever go away.” Ms Allred feels that the British public and victims need to hear from Andrew again, and if not, the king should speak out.

Speaking directly to the royals, she said: “We can handle the truth, and the public deserves the truth because he gave that interview, and since he’s gone radio silent on the whole issue. I don’t think he’s helping himself. I don’t think he’s helping the victims, and this isn’t just about public relations. I mean, this is about what’s the duty of anyone? If young women are hurt, if young women are in peril if young women who are vulnerable were taken advantage of, even by Jeffrey Epstein, not necessarily by him, why can’t they speak about it?”

Ms Allred accused Andrew of making a decision himself rather than letting Southern District of New York prosecutors evaluate whether the information he has on Epstein could be important for their criminal probe. In 2020, when he was the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman made the extremely rare decision to blast Andrew publicly.

He accused the Duke of “seeking to falsely portray himself” as eager to help his Epstein inquiry before he accused Andrew of providing “zero cooperation.” Berman claimed that despite public statements to the contrary, the royal had “repeatedly declined” requests to schedule an interview. Andrew’s legal team denied his claims, insisting that the Duke offered to assist authorities on at least three occasions.

Melania Trump, Prince Andrew, Gwendolyn Beck and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000(Image: Getty Images)