Prince Andrew ‘hosted paedo pal Jeffrey Epstein and young model at Balmoral’ as Duke finally breaks silence to say he’s ‘appalled’ at scandal
PRINCE Andrew hosted paedo pal Jeffrey Epstein and a young model at Balmoral, it was reported last night - as the Duke finally broke his silence over the scandal.
He's said to have personally welcomed the disgraced financier and his entourage - including a model in her 20s - to the castle in 1999.
Speaking anonymously, the woman told the how the party stayed overnight at the 52-bedroom royal estate.
They even spent the following day being entertained in the grounds in late summer or early autumn - when the Queen was likely to have been in residence.
The revelation came as Andrew, 59, finally addressed his friendship with sex beast Epstein - who hanged himself in his New York jail cell this month.
He said last night that he was "appalled" by the allegations of underage sex trafficking made against the shamed Wall Street tycoon.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: "The Duke of York has been appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes.
"His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behaviour is abhorrent."
'HOUSE OF HORRORS'
That response followed the release of images showing Prince Andrew inside Epstein's £63million mansion in New York - dubbed the "House of Horrors" by some of his victims - nine years ago.
Footage obtained by showed the Duke peering out of the front door of the sprawling home on Manhattan's East 71st Street - waving to a young woman as she leaves.
The video was filmed in 2010 - two years after Epstein had been convicted of sex with a child.
The Duke later quit his role as UK trade envoy after fallout from photos of him with the billionaire in Central Park from the same trip emerged.
'HE LOOKED TOTALLY AT EASE'
A source claimed to the that the footage was extremely concerning for the Prince.
They said: "When the Prince came to the door I was stunned. He looked totally at ease.
"He said a few words to the girl, who was very pretty, and then she walked off down the street in the direction of Central Park.
"If I hadn't known it was Prince Andrew, I would have thought he owned the place.
"He looked so comfortable and relaxed as he stood there at the door.
"It was only as the girl walked off that he glanced around the door frame, almost as if to check no one was watching."
'CHIT-CHAT' WITH ANDREW
Recalling making "chit-chat" with the Prince during the 1999 Balmoral trip, the then-model said: "He was really nice.
"He was very polite. [He had his] guard up."
But the woman - who had been recruited to give sexual massages to perv Epstein - fears she may have been brought on the week-long UK trip with the intention of being "lent out" to one of Epstein's influential pals.
She added: "Why was I really there?
"Did [Epstein] really enjoy my company all that much or was I being prepped to end up being sent out like a gift to some people?"
She never found out what plans - if any - Epstein had for her at Balmoral as she went to bed early.
A spokesman for Prince Andrew declined to comment on the Balmoral visit.
The Prince has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
NOTORIOUS PHOTO
But Andrew has been haunted by a now-notorious photograph showing him with alleged Epstein sex-slave Virginia Roberts - who was just 17 at the time.
The snap - which also includes Epstein's alleged "madam", the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell - shows the Prince grinning as he grasps her by her bare midriff.
It was taken in 2001 during another trip by Epstein and his entourage to the UK - during which Roberts alleged she had sex with the royal three times.
Those claims were thrown out by a US court in 2014 after a judge branded them "immaterial and impertinent".
Who was Jeffrey Epstein and what was he accused of?
Jeffrey Epstein was a US financier who was convicted of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution in 2008.
He was arrested on July 6, 2019 for sex trafficking minors in Florida and New York.
Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019 on sex trafficking charges.
Court documents allege that at least 40 underage girls were brought to Epstein’s mansion for sexual encounters.
He was arrested at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey.
FBI agents are also said to have broken down the door to his Manhattan townhouse.
He pleaded not guilty to child sex trafficking charges in New York and could face 45 years in prison if found guilty.
On July 18, a federal judge said that the disgraced financier presented a "danger to the community" and must stay in one of New York's toughest prisons while he awaits a trial over the sex trafficking accusations.
The shamed financier was locked up amid fears he would flee the country.
Epstein is understood to have killed himself last week just 12 days after being removed from suicide watch.
Buckingham Palace said of the allegations: "Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue.
"It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts."
Last night, the woman who attended the Balmoral trip said the photo of Andrew with Roberts "sickened" her.
She also told how she travelled the world with billionaire Epstein during her year in his disturbing clan - going on about a dozen trips.
He paid for a place for her to live in New York rent-free - and later covered her college tuition fees.
She added: "We fooled around a bit. I never had intercourse with him."
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Epstein is understood to have killed himself on August 10 - just 12 days after being removed from suicide watch.
He was placed on high alert after apparently trying to take his own life on July 23, shortly after he was denied bail ahead of his sex trafficking trial.
But less than a week after he was found with marks on his neck, prison officials determined he was no longer a threat to himself.
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