Waleses Break Silence as Epstein Revelations Continue (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Now the Prince and Princess of Wales have issued their first public statement following the release of more documents relating to the convicted sex offender Geoffrey Epstein. A Kensington Palace spokesperson said I can confirm the Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations their thoughts remain focused on the victims. Well Andrew Martin Batten-Windsor has faced years of scrutiny over his past friendship with Epstein. He was stripped of his royal titles in October last year following increasing numbers of questions about his links to Epstein. Well last week Andrew moved out of his home in Windsor to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Buckingham Palace had announced in October he'd be moving from Royal Lodge at the same time that the title of Prince was removed. Our senior royal correspondent Daniela Ralph explains the significance of today's statement.

[00:00:47] Speaker 2: On behalf of the Prince and Princess of Wales it is a short statement just two sentences long but it is extremely significant. The first time we have heard from them publicly commenting on Geoffrey Epstein in any way. The statement reads I can confirm the Prince and Princess of Wales have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims. So the first time we have heard from them in any context at all around the Epstein files, Geoffrey Epstein himself, you'll notice that there is no direct reference in that statement to Geoffrey Epstein. He's not named. Neither is there any reference to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the Prince of Wales, his uncle. So no direct reference to him. It is quite general. It is quite short. It's just a couple of sentences but it's significant because it is the first time we've heard from them publicly. It is also an attempt by royal aides to try and slightly clear things, clear the path for Prince William's official visit here to Saudi Arabia later on today. He's due to arrive in Riyadh later this afternoon. Will it do that? I'm not so sure but it is an attempt to try and show that they understand the fallout, the significance, the pain and anguish of victims ahead of William arriving here.

[00:01:59] Speaker 1: Daniela, just reminders of the latest revelations concerning Andrew.

[00:02:06] Speaker 2: Yes, I mean they are endless to be honest and there are repeated email drops and documents within the Epstein files around Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and his relationship with Geoffrey Epstein around the money, around times that they were meeting, his relationship with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. What we have seen in the past week is this drip feed of stories as more and more of the Epstein files are waded through and looked through and documents examined and that is the problem for the royal family. It is a situation that is not in their control. They don't know what is coming next and therefore have not responded until now but I think the timing of this trip here to Saudi Arabia, its diplomatic significance, meant that Prince William wanted to say something in the hope that minds might now be focused on this particular visit.

[00:02:55] Speaker 1: And is that likely and is he likely to face any questions from journalists over this directly?

[00:03:05] Speaker 2: Well we saw the King and Queen have questions thrown at them when they were out on public engagements last week. It may well be that the same happened to Prince William while he is here in Saudi Arabia because although we have that statement we haven't heard him saying that himself and I think there is perhaps an interest in hearing from him saying that. So we will have to see how the course of the next three days plays out. I think from Kensington Palace's perspective they will hope that this statement is enough for now. It may not be.

[00:03:33] Speaker 1: And just tell us more about this trip, how controversial is this trip in itself?

[00:03:42] Speaker 2: Well it is a diplomatically tricky trip, probably the most sensitive official visit that Prince William has been asked to get involved in. He is spending three days here in Saudi Arabia. He arrives later this afternoon. He will spend some time with Saudi Arabia's controversial de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. And Prince William is here at the request of the UK government who see this country as the most important strategic relationship that they have here in this part of the world. And they want to deploy William to try and strengthen that, particularly around building a personal friendship and relationship with Mohammed bin Salman.

[00:04:21] Speaker 1: Daniela at RAF there. Well I'm joined by Richard Palmer, former Royal Correspondent at the Daily Express. Thanks for being with us. What do you make of this statement by the Prince and Princess of Wales?

[00:04:33] Speaker 3: Well I think I agree with Daniela that it looks very much like an attempt to clear the decks for William ahead of his arrival in Saudi Arabia later today. I think the palace is hoping that reporters won't be shouting out questions to William, but that may still happen. It's always a tricky thing for a royal reporter to handle when there's a huge controversy, because the rules of engagement for the royal family essentially say that you don't shout out questions to them, but there are just times when you feel you have to. So I think it doesn't really say that much other than think of the victim with, you know, thoughts with the victims and that they're concerned. But it will probably add pressure on the King to say something further. He hasn't really, you know, Buckingham Palace put out a statement at the end of October, but there's been a little bit of briefing that, you know, the King thinks it's up to his brother's conscience to decide whether he should testify to the US Congress committee looking into the Epstein affair. I mean, I think there is pressure on the King to say something more and to say, to ask the police to investigate several aspects of this scandal, not least the financial side of it. I mean, you've got Peter Malderson having his house raided, two homes raided, by police looking for information that might aid a charge of a misconduct in public office, while Andrew is equally accused of leaking official sensitive papers. Some lawyers think that he could be open to a similar charge.

[00:06:32] Speaker 1: Yes, and is it plausible that, you know, the comings and goings of Andrew and his email exchanges, as you said, where it's being reported that he has leaked sensitive information, effectively, or passed on sensitive information, government information, in his capacity as a trade envoy, that that was not known by anybody on the royal staff?

[00:07:03] Speaker 3: It's difficult because you can see in, well, you can see in some of the email exchanges that some of the people in his back office clearly were involved in dealing with Epstein, long after he claimed that he'd cut off all ties, and it looks as if they were doing it on his behalf. But how much people further up the chain knew is really not clear.

[00:07:30] Speaker 1: Just briefly, Richard, I mean, is it possible for the for the royals to force Andrew to testify, or to withdraw support from him, even being allowed to say on the royal estate?

[00:07:44] Speaker 3: Well, I suppose that's open to the King, isn't it? He could say, I know I said you could stay in Sandringham, but it's contingent on you giving evidence to the authorities here and in the US. At the moment, the King's not looking like he's wanting to do that.

[00:08:00] Speaker 1: Okay, we will have to leave it there. Richard Palmer, former royal correspondent at the Daily Express newspaper. Thank you very much indeed for being with us today.