As the former Prince Andrew was drawn into the news surrounding sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, he tried to distance himself from the scandal.
“I can’t take any more of this,” a sender identified in Epstein’s contacts as “The Duke” wrote to him in 2011, in one of thousands of partly redacted emails released Wednesday, according to Associated Press.
The emails resurfaced days after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his remaining royal titles including the title of prince.
He was also asked to vacate his royal residence near Windsor Castle over his links to Jeffery Epstein.
The recent trove of documents has renewed the sexual assault allegations against Andrew and undermined his denials that he ever met his accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre. They also reveal some of the efforts made behind the scenes to attack her claims.
In a disastrous attempt to clear his name, Mountbatten-Windsor did an interview with the BBC in which he denied ever meeting Giuffre and said he broke off contact with Epstein in December 2010.
The new emails undercut Mountbatten-Windsor’s claim that a now-infamous snapshot of him with his arm around Giuffre’s midriff was doctored because he couldn’t remember it being taken.
“Yes she was on my plane, and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew as many of my employees have,” Epstein wrote in one 2011 email in which he called Giuffre a liar.
Epstein repeatedly disparaged Giuffre, calling her “nothing more than a telephone answerer.”
He discussed getting a reporter to investigate her, suggesting “Buckingham Palace would love it.”
When the Mail on Sunday sought comment before publishing a story in March 2011 about Giuffre’s allegations, Epstein forwarded the email to Mountbatten-Windsor.
“Please make sure that every statement or legal letter states clearly that I am NOT involved and that I knew and know NOTHING about any of these allegations,” the reply from the email listed as “The Duke” said. “I can’t take any more of this (on) my end.”
When he asked Epstein how he planned to respond to the tabloid’s request, Epstein said he wasn’t sure.
“The only person she didn’t have sex with was Elvis,” he wrote.