Queen Elizabeth always stood by Andrew despite Epstein-linked allegations

A new book has claimed that the late Queen Elizabeth II never doubted her son then-Prince Andrew’s innocence over the allegations linked to Jeffrey Epstein.

A US-based entertainment site claimed that the royal biography revealed that the late monarch continued to support Andrew privately.

Despite public criticism following his 2019 Newsnight interview and the civil settlement in New York, his mother believed in his innocence, said a royal insider.

In his upcoming book Queen Elizabeth II, author Hugo Vickers writes, "Despite (Andrew's) car-crash interview on Newsnight, and other apparent revelations, the Queen did not believe he had behaved improperly.”

“It is fortunate that she did not live to witness the denouement,” he added. "Andrew's problems caused the Queen considerable distress in the last years of her life.

“She was deeply concerned about his future. One idea, developed in the last year of her life, was to set up a foundation that Andrew could administer."

Speaking on it, a source added that the Queen viewed the claims as deeply personal and never wavered in her belief that her son had not acted improperly.

"The Queen went to her grave believing her favorite son Andrew was innocent of Epstein-linked crimes – that belief never wavered, even as pressure mounted from all sides,” they said.

"For her, this was deeply personal. She saw Andrew first and foremost as her son, and that shaped how she viewed the allegations.

“Even in the face of damaging headlines and that Newsnight interview, she held firm to the view that he had not behaved improperly."