Documents obtained from US government files reveal that the late monarch gave Andrew her “full support,” while at the same time considering his association with Epstein to have been “unwise.”
The email in question, dated March 9 2011, was sent by David Stern, a trusted adviser to the then-Prince Andrew, directly to Epstein.
In the message, seemingly referring to Andrew as “PA,” Mr Stern wrote: “PA has full support of his mum, only dealing with you was ‘unwise.'”
The use of quotation marks indicates that Mr Stern was likely repeating the Queen’s own words about her son’s involvement with the convicted sex offender.
Emails Surface After Years of Silence
Until these documents came to light, the late Queen’s personal opinion regarding Andrew’s conduct had not been publicly known. However, the emails uncovered by ITV now offer a clearer picture of how she viewed the situation.
The correspondence emerged three months after Andrew’s widely criticised Newsnight interview, in which he claimed he had travelled to New York to end his friendship with Epstein face-to-face, describing the visit as the “honourable” thing to do.
In February 2011, two photographs intensified public scrutiny.