Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew: Royals don’t know how to respond to sex scandal - NEWS.com.au

August is reportedly one of the Queen’s favourite times of the year. The height of (northern) summer, it finds her ensconced in her beloved Balmoral Castle, a vast gothic pile set on 50,000 acres in Scotland.

Her family visits, as do close friends. She hosts the Ghillies Ball and enjoys the bracing country air. It’s a shame though, that her annual opportunity to rest and recharge is so often blighted by scandal.

It was in August 1992 that photos of her (then) daughter-in-law Sarah, the Duchess of York having her toes sucked by her ‘financial consultant’ John Bryan were published.

Then in the same month, transcripts of the infamous Squidgygate tapes were published, in which Diana, Princess of Wales, was heard sharing an intimate conversation with alleged lover, gin heir James Gilbey. (He has always denied they had an affair.)

Now it is August and once again the month has seen Her Majesty contending with the fallout from a family member in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. For nearly a month her favourite child, son Prince Andrew, has been at the centre of international media attention over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Over the weekend, the Duke of York sought to tamp down the growing scrutiny of his “association” (as he put it) with Epstein, who committed suicide earlier this month while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

In a statement, Andrew said: “I am eager to clarify the facts to avoid further speculation. I met Mr Epstein in 1999. During the time I knew him, I saw him infrequently and probably no more than only once or twice a year. I have stayed in a number of his residences.

“At no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.

“I have said previously that it was a mistake and an error to see him after his release in 2010 and I can only reiterate my regret that I was mistaken to think that what I thought I knew of him was evidently not the real person, given what we now know.

“I have tremendous sympathy for all those affected by his actions and behaviour. His suicide has left many unanswered questions and I acknowledge and sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure.

“This is a difficult time for everyone involved and I am at a loss to be able to understand or explain Mr Epstein’s lifestyle. I deplore the exploitation of any human being and would not condone, participate in, or encourage any such behaviour.”

Unfortunately, the statement had the opposite effect, with claims that the Duke’s comments were a “word salad” and “baffling”.

So, where to now for the embattled Duke and his family?

The Windsors have certainly weathered many storms over the last three decades, however, the Epstein situation must surely be testing the courtiers’ troubleshooting limits. Previously, most of the headline-grabbing incidents that have dogged the Windsor clan have involved adultery and the occasional tampon reference.

The options that the courtiers have at their disposal are limited, according to royal expert Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine.

“Quite often there will be something going on and the Palace, for whatever reason, won’t comment and in doing so the story may well go away,” Little says. “But this is too big a story to just look the other way.”

However, courtiers might be out of moves to try and quell the continuing furore over Epstein.

“There really isn’t much more that they can do, other than say the Duke of York going on TV and saying, ‘Look this is what happened’ and I’d be amazed if that were to happen,” says Little. “I think that the Palace probably feels that they have now gone as far as they can go or indeed need to go.

“(After Andrew’s recent personal statement) I would think that at this moment in time, the people at the Palace feel that they have done everything that it really is expected of them.

“Clearly if there is a need for Andrew to talk to the police (in the UK) or in the US, I think it’s likely that there will be co-operation with that but that’s uncharted territory.”

Little paints an intriguing picture of what might be going on behind the scenes.

“They would have a get together of the private secretaries, the Queen’s private secretary would be involved in a sensitive situation such as this, as would the Queen be, but from a distance, so she would certainly be aware of what was going on.

“Solicitors would be briefed on what was going on so that they were fully up to speed on the developments.”

Despite this, Little says that “this is the latest in a long line of very personal private matters that come into the public domain”. “Buckingham Palace is used to dealing with big stories of a personal nature and they wouldn’t be particularly phased by something like this.”

This week, Epstein’s self-described “sex slave” Virginia Giuffre addressed the Duke while speaking in New York, saying “He knows exactly what he’s done, and I hope he comes clean about it.”

The Palace’s next move remains to be seen.

Daniela Elser is a royal expert and freelance writer with 15 years’ experience who has written for some of Australia’s best print and digital media brands.

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