Prince Andrew, the Duke of Yoke, has weighed in on his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein publicly for the first time.
Speaking during an exclusive interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Prince Andrew confessed to letting the royal family down and doing the wrong thing by associating himself with an alleged sex offender.
“I admit fully my judgment was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable but that’s just the way it is, " he told the BBC correspondent.
The Duke of Yoke has been, for months now, been the focus of troubling questions about his relationship with the billionaire businessman who took his life amid accusations of recruiting underage girls for sex parties.
Prince Andrew was pictured in 2010 walking with the late disgraced American financier taking a stroll in the New York Central Park, just two years after a court convicted Epstein of recruiting a minor into prostitution.
He expressed regret for his association with Epstein being a member of the royal family which is accorded a lot of respect in the world.
“I stayed with him and that’s … that’s … that’s the bit that … that … that, as it were, I kick myself for on a daily basis because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family, and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and I let the side down, simple as that, " Prince Andrew added.
Buckingham Palace went into damage limitation issuing statement after statement in defence of Prince Andrew.