Prince Andrew stepped back from royal duties today after facing backlash from an interview about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.Â
The BBC interview was broadcast on Saturday November 16th, during which the Duke of York was questioned by Emily Maitlis on his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.Â
Epstein was found dead in his prison cell earlier this year, and his death was ruled a suicide by coroners.Â
In the interview the duke said he met Epstein in 1999, however a letter written to The Times by Buckingham Palace said they met in the early 90s.Â
The letter was published after The Times published a story on a photo featuring Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre (nee Roberts), who testified she was forced to have sex with him at the age of 17.Â
The duke denies any sexual relationship with her and does not remember meeting her at all. According to him, the night she says they first met he was actually at Pizza Express in Woking before returning home. Â
He also said during his interview with Maitlis he had a “peculiar” medical condition that prevented him from sweating, so Giuffre’s comment that he was “profusely sweating” in a nightclub could be unreliable. Â
The prince’s last meeting with Epstein was in 2010, after he had been convicted and released as a registered sex offender.Â
Initially Prince Andrew stood by his BBC interview, however after much criticism and pressure he was given permission by the Queen to “step back from public duties for the foreseeable future” earlier today.Â
Epstein was arrested in July of this year on charges of child sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. He was accused of paying girls as young as 14 so engage in sex acts with him between 2002 and 2005. It is also claimed he trafficked young girls for other men.Â
In 2016, a woman named Katie Johnson sued Trump, claiming he raped her at one of Epstein’s parties when she was 13. She later dropped the case.Â
The two prison guards, who were on duty when Epstein died are currently facing charges of falsifying records saying they were checking on him every 30 minutes.Â