Donald Trump has expressed sympathy for the British royal family following King Charles's decision to strip Prince Andrew of his titles, describing the situation as 'terrible' and 'tragic'.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said he felt 'very badly' for the family. He was responding to the King's move to remove Andrew's peerages and titles over his association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, will also lose his residence at Royal Lodge.
The decision follows concerns within the royal household about the damage caused by headlines concerning Mountbatten Windsor's friendship with Epstein. The former prince has faced allegations of sexual assault from Virginia Giuffre, who claimed in a posthumous memoir that she was forced to have sex with him on three occasions, including when she was 17. Andrew has consistently denied the claims and settled a civil case with Giuffre for a reported £12m without admitting liability.
Trump, who was acquainted with Epstein before his presidency, has previously voiced admiration for the royal family, including during his second state visit in September. However, he has faced scrutiny over his own links to Epstein, with images of the two projected on Windsor Castle during the visit.
In the latest development, Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed that Mountbatten Windsor would be stripped of his remaining naval title, which he received in 2015. He had already lost his other honorary military titles in 2022. Meanwhile, a Democratic congressman has called for him to testify before a US House committee investigating the Epstein case.
Interest in the case intensified in July after the US Justice Department said a widely rumoured list of Epstein's clients did not exist.
