To support the Duke of York

[LadyLanka]

Just that.
Although he is being asked the wrong questions.

Yeah I stand corrected but I still think hey were at university in the UK

I only post because I despise 'fake news' and the media acting as judge jury and executioner to a man who hasn't even been charged with anything

Something pathetic like 0.6% of rape cases are prosecuted is that because only 0.6% are true?

Epstein was charged and convicted twice. Andrew CHOSE despite having multiple choices to go and stay at his house.

He knew that he had unrelated, very young girls, being flown around the world with him.

But yeah. Totally normal behaviour.

@TVstar

He receives no money from the public purse so I am baffled why he is being asked to justify his actions he hasn't been charged much less convicted of any crime. He is a private individual who can have whatever friends and staywherever he wishes

Prince Andrew is not a private individual. He is a 'working' royal who carries out 'work' on behalf of the crown, and receives funding from the Sovereign Grant. He is also provided with round-the-clock security which is entirely paid for by - guess who? - the taxpayer.

Following this utter trainwork of an interview, however, I cannot see how he can go on having a role in public life. Who the hell thought this would be a good idea? Whatever happened to 'never complain, never explain'?

Tvstar

It doesn’t have to have been against her will to be rape, or for it to be exploitation, depending on her age and the location.

A smile or the young woman being in good health tells you literally nothing about the situation.

The young woman in the picture looks the picture of health and happiness, relaxed and beaming.

Did you see Ghislaine Maxwell in the doorway behind them? Does she look like a person who was grooming children for her friend's sexual needs?
Virginia was pressured to sleep with Andrew so would have to smile and pretend she was having a fantastic time. Ghislaine is also very wealthy. Don't you think that Virginia was scared of her too? People have enough problems escaping abusive spouses who aren't billionaires who could pursue them anywhere on the planet. They probably had pics and video evidence of her that she didn't want leaking too.
You also don't know how much alcohol had been supplied to her that night.
Do you really think that you could walk down the street and identify the people that are being abused by looking at them? Don't you think that they could be smiling in public so that they can pretend that nothing is wrong?

tbh i have been watching videos of queen victoria's children, some things they got up to would make your hair curl!

Queen Victoria's eldest grandson was the worst. Ultimately responsible for millions of deaths worldwide, and left Germany in a right mess for the next 70-odd years.

Mostly because the police don't know who dunnit

That's pretty naive too. It's pretty common for the police to know exactly whodunnit. But that's not the same as being able to prosecute them for it. I know people who are involved in crime. I wouldn't give evidence against them in court because I don't want my house burnt down, with me and my family in it.

I would have thought if you were being forced into prostitution against your will you would be miserable, inane to sleep properly, bad skin from stress, dead eyes. That girl looks the absolute picture of heath and happiness

I am absolutely baffled by how utterly thick you are.

What kind of bubble do you live in that you just have absolutely zero understanding of how these thing work 🤷.

Are you purposefully ignorant?

I would have thought if you were being forced into prostitution against your will you would be miserable, inane to sleep properly, bad skin from stress, dead eyes. That girl looks the absolute picture of heath and happiness

No one is this naive, surely.

'If I was in a position to be able to answer all these questions in a way that gave sensible answers other than the ones that I have given that gave closure then I'd love it but I'm afraid I can't.'

He doesn't use the words you'd expect from someone who realises they need to convince.

He was nodding in all the wrong places during the interview.

He hasn't given any 'sensible' explanations. I don't believe there are any. Plenty of talk about being 'honourable' as if that would justify his actions, so demonstrating a complete lack of honesty, IMO.

No sense of him having any self-awareness, any empathy for others, or an iota of humility.

Looks like Tvstar believes in fairies and Father Christmas. Maitlis quietly and coldly eviscerated him, it was one of the best interviews I’ve ever seen. Andrew’s never been renowned for his intellect or his moral rectitude and he proved beyond doubt that his reputation is well founded. I suspect that when the Queen dies he’ll be quietly removed to another part of the world.

There are pictures all over social media of women smiling and happy in photos of themselves with their family and anusive partners

If everyone's face in a photo immediately gave away their circumstance, we'd all know everything, but we know that's not how life is don't we.

Did nigella look abused? Yet her ex was a strangler. I mean, the list is endless ...

Do you think that Virginia expected the authorities to punish Epstein when his first prison sentence allowed him to pop into the office every week and have sex with young girls in his office without any repercussions ?

Let's strip out all the he said she said and look at what we do know to be an absolute fact. Never mind what a trafficked girl is supposed to look like in your head, OP, how do you explain this man continuing a relationship with a convicted pedophile who trafficked children, who continued to maintain a relationship with him and accepted his hospitality in a house where young girls were coming and going? Prince Andrew did this, not because it was the 'honourable thing to do' but because he didn't give a shit about those girls. He cannot find it in him to give a single fuck about what is done to people he considers beneath him. They are cattle, there for the amusement of him and his mates and he doesn't consider the trafficking and rape of a child to be a deal breaker to hanging out with someone he finds beneficial. So keep tugging your forelock, OP, but don't be in any doubt that if you were in the middle of the street, this man wouldn't even brake.

*Abusive

OP, how do you explain this man continuing a relationship with a convicted pedophile who trafficked children, who continued to maintain a relationship with him and accepted his hospitality in a house where young girls were coming and going?

I think it’s very obvious that Prince Andrew needed to see Epstein face to face to get stories straight and put the squeeze on him not to share details of his misconduct with the media or anyone else. ‘Honour’ didn’t come into it.

I would have thought if you were being forced into prostitution against your will you would be miserable, inane to sleep properly, bad skin from stress, dead eyes. That girl looks the absolute picture of heath and happiness

Heard of makeup to conceal bad skin (which could be a teen hormone thing anyway) and look more glowing?
Don't you think that lots of prostitutes take drugs so they can fake being happy/be numb to what is happening?

My comments are:

1. I didn't realise that Virginia Roberts had sold the photograph of Prince Andrew with his arm around her to a newspaper.

1. As Andrew pointed out, the photo is a photo of a photo of a photo (of similar). I would be interested in knowing whether the original photo has been forensically investigated to prove whether or not it has or hasn't been tampered with.

1. Surely PA's staff keep detailed diaries of his daily activities and should be able to prove behind doubt where he is at any time.

1. I think PA referred to a date like 10th March for the photo. Had this been ascertained and proved to be the actual date? We need to be sure PA's alibi of being at Pizza Express in Woking was even relevant to the date in question.

1. If the photo is legitimate, what does it actually show? Nothing sinister there in my view. If it is an untampered photo it proves he did meet her.

1. I think it perfectly plausible that he has no recollection of meeting the young woman. He must have met many people in his role as special representative for trade and investment. (Obviously if he did do what he is accused of then I would expect him to remember her).

1. Someone reported (housekeeper or cleaning staff?) that PA visited Epstein's island about 4 times per year. PA said he visited 4 the times during whole time he knew Epstein. Quite a discrepancy between claims. Surely that would be easy enough to prove/disprove from royal diaries, Epstein's staff's diaries and PA's security detail's diaries.

1. Why didn't the BBC journalist ask PA about the photograph of him at the door of Epstein's home where a woman was outside?

1. If Epstein's home is more like a "railway station" why would PA ever open the front door? Wouldn't Epstein's staff do that?

10. There have been comments that PA didn't express empathy about the young women who were, allegedly, sex-trafficked but PA, if innocent, is fighting for his reputation and I can see why his focus would be on himself and clearing his name.

11. PA said Epstein had a lot of emminent contacts from various upper echelons. I can see why Andrew would benefit from this networking in his role as special representative and I can quite believe that Epstein did not have young girls at those get-togethers.

12. Epstein could easily have a dual life, one of respectability and mixing with emminent people and a completely separate one where he indulged in sex with minors and sex trafficking.

13. On the subject of sweating, I have always had difficulty in sweating even in the most hot and humid of weather. I could feel boiling to the point of passing out but not sweat. It never crossed my mind to see a doctor about it. Now, many years later, in hot weather I can sweat horribly on my face and maybe somewhat on hands and feet but still don't sweat underarm or anywhere else even after exercise. So, PA's comments on sweating didn't strike me as odd.
    I do think he jumped in quick with that response but he struck me more as an eager pup who thought he could immediately disprove that and prove his innocence.

14. Most of us move in different circles where we don't use the word 'unbecoming'. The Royal Family are brought up not to express political and other views. They retain their own counsel and their emotions are kept very controlled in public. I did cringe at the term "too honourable" but I think he means "too committed" (and lots of us can relate to that). I wouldn't have expected PA to be use more emotive language than he did because if the way the RC speak generally.

15. I found his responses to be plausible when he gave the settings (e.g. Epstein's home like a "railway station" and Epstein being the "plus one", the bf of PA's actual friend who he'd known from uni).

16. Good that PA would, subject to his legal team's advice, give evidence. That can't be a bad thing.

17. PA incredibly naive to do that interview but I can understand why he would want to do if if he is innocent.

18. I think if he was guilty he wouldn't be inclined to take questions, knowing that body language experts would be studying the interview. It would take years, if not forever, to teach someone to not make any body movements.

19. I don't know for sure because I don't have all the evidence.

I hope PA and others are called to give evidence. I hope diaries are interrogated and I hope that the truth, whatever it may be, comes out sooner rather than later.

Andrew’s never been renowned for his intellect or his moral rectitude and he proved beyond doubt that his reputation is well founded

He really is mind numbingly thick, and has been told he is wonderful so many times he obviously thinks the little people are stupider than he is. He doesn't sweat because of the Falklands war? How convenient that he has managed to remind us of his previous 'war hero'status and exonerate himself at the same time. Except he didn't, because there are pictures of him sweating all over the place. Lets remind people that Im a prince and grew up in a palace by telling people I don't notice 'staff'. Wonder whether thats why he doesnt remeber sleeping with teenage girls? They were 'staff'? Who invites Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein to their daughters 18th birthday anyway?

To be fair.. I have many dear friends who if they were accused of something terrible and If they assured me they were totally innocent , I'd believe them unless I had significant proof otherwise. I've known them for years and know them to be good decent people. I don't think the fact that a person is 'accused of of something automatically makes them guilty of it.

We had a situation locally where a man I know through mutual friends was accused of something terrible . Some of my friends had known him since school and they immediately dropped him and treated like a total pariah. It was subsequently proven beyond all doubt that the allegation was false. I often thought that as bad as the accusation was for that man. The fact that his oldest friends were so ready to believe it of him must have been truly devastating. .

Prince Andrew did this ... because he didn't give a shit about those girls. He cannot find it in him to give a single fuck about what is done to people he considers beneath him. They are cattle, there for the amusement of him and his mates and he doesn't consider the trafficking and rape of a child to be a deal breaker to hanging out with someone he finds beneficial

A million times this.

Can we have this on a fucking placard please?

OMG.

What a pompous, opportunist, sordid individual.

Most disconcerting how he explains what his future plans for reconnecting with the public are. After honouring his friendship with a convicted child abuser, he goes on to say that he is involved "particularly in the education field" and "also in areas of government" ... "we are all using in the same direction"..... and his work involves young teenagers as he states. Big from me

On a different note, I loved how EM closes the interview with a faux differential "your royal highness, thanks you" followed by royaly music.....

*we are all going in the same direction.... quite worrying.

What is his 'work' exactly about? Does anybody know?

Having/showing empathy as well as wanting to clear your name are not mutually exclusive.

What a strange slant on it.

I would be horrified at watching someone run over, be upset and worried for the victim, even whilst explaining that I was actually travelling in the opposite direction, and so wasn't part of the actual incident.

Its ridiculous.

Thank you Tvstar for letting us all know what a trafficked prostitute should look like. How many years of experience do you have of working with young vulnerable girls? Wild guess, zero?