Sarah Ferguson has spoken out in support of Prince Andrew amid intense scrutiny over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Duchess of York addressed the issue for the first time at the Luminous BFI Gala Auction charity event in London on Tuesday.
The Sun asked the 59-year-old if she was supporting the prince, who has been named numerous times in US court documents pertaining to the Epstein case.
“I think the most important thing in life is familyhood,” Ferguson told the paper of her former husband.
According to the Sunday Times, the FBI is reportedly looking into Prince Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
“The US investigation is focusing on several potential victims in the hope that they can provide more details about Prince Andrew and his connection to the Epstein case,” sources from the US Department of Justice told the publication.
“They are not going to dismiss [claims relating to Andrew] because he is a royal.”
The Duke of York is facing allegations that he sexually abused the then 17-year-old Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
Giuffre, one of Epstein’s accusers, has previously alleged that Epstein forced her to perform sex acts with a number of men, including the prince.
In an interview with NBC News, Giuffre described the prince as “an abuser” who “knows the truth”.
Prince Andrew has always denied any accusations of inappropriate behaviour. Last month, Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”
In a statement released in August, the prince said he first met Epstein in 1999 and “saw him infrequently and probably no more than only once or twice a year”.
He said, “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.”
In 2011, Ferguson confirmed that she had accepted £15,000 from Epstein to pay off her debts, and that Prince Andrew arranged the payment.
“I personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me,” she said then. “I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf … Whenever I can I will repay the money and will have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”
