Prince Andrew given crucial advice by Sarah Ferguson's alleged lover John Bryan: report

John Bryan, who allegedly had a relationship with Sarah Ferguson in 1992, said he offered the Duke and Duchess of York strategic advice on how to restore Andrew's reputation and finances.

US Businessman John Bryan, alleged lover of the Duchess of York, is said to have given "honest advice" to Prince Andrew in the aftermath of the Duke's fateful interview back in 2019.

King Charles' younger brother stepped down from royal duties and the late Queen stripped him of his military affiliations and patronages in the wake of a sex scandal. Andrew categorically denied the allegations and later came to an out-of-court settlement with his accuser Virginia Giuffre.

The businessman claimed that he was invited back into the family's inner circle at a time when the Duke of York was in crisis, adding that he then helped them draw up a plan.

He claimed he advised Andrew to show sympathy for Epstein's victims and encouraged him to voice his understanding of the magnitude of the paedophile's heinous crimes.

Bryan told the Mail on Sunday : "Sarah asked me to come and help Andrew and the girls. I'd stayed friends with Sarah, but when everything was going down, when it was bad, she reached out to me and I was happy to help."

Bryan said that the family needed a "strategic plan that everyone could buy into" following Andrew's disastrous interview with the BBC's Emily Maitlis.

Andrew said that Epstein has acted "in a manner unbecoming" during his interview, to which Maitlis curtly replied: "Unbecoming? He was a sex offender."

According to Bryan, he was in contact with Sarah following the Duke's TV appearance and was messaging her with "the normal things you say to an ex" like "I hope you're OK".

Bryan admitted that the exes were "distraught" when he was invited into their home. Their daughter' Princess Beatrice reportedly told her father: "You have hurt our family."

He went back for a second visit to the family home, again taking measures to avoid detection from the press. "It was cloak-and-dagger stuff," he said. "Eventually, I was driven into Royal Lodge via a neighbouring property."

Andrew, according to Bryan, gave him "a handshake and a hug" upon seeing him and added that Andrew was unable to concentrate for more than 40 minutes at a time due to the strain he was under. Mr Bryan told the Mail on Sunday that he is convinced of Andrew's innocence.