Prince William and Princess Kate have never officially commented on William's uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, but on Monday, February 9, a representative for the couple issued a rare statement.
The spokesperson, who is currently traveling with Prince William on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, said: "I can confirm The Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims."
Their comments come amid growing calls for the Royal Family to speak up about the former Duke of York and the new series of Epstein files released by the Department of Justice at the end of January. Andrew, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, was pictured kneeling over a woman on the ground in a series of photos, and mentioned in numerous emails to the late sex offender.
Just hours after the Prince and Princess of Wales released their statement, King Charles made an appearance in Clitheroe, Lancashire, when he was heckled by anti-monarchists who turned up at the event.
"Charles, how long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?" one man shouted in a video shared by journalist Russell Myers on Instagram. The heckler was drowned out by fans booing him and yelling, "Shut up!" with others cheering for The King in response.
Royal fan Lauren Parkinson, who was at the event, tells Marie Claire that fans rallied around King Charles in the moment. "The crowd were having none of it and cheered over the top of him, which was nice," Parkinson said, adding that she heard "there were at least 2,000 people packed onto that small street by the time he arrived."
"Apart from that one voice, he got an overwhelmingly positive welcome to the town," she continued.
