Prince Harry becomes first Royal to address Prince Andrew's links to Jeffrey Epstein

Prince Harry has become the first member of the royal family to address Prince Andrew's links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The former senior royal, 38, has addressed what he described as 'a shameful scandal' in his new book Spare, which is set to be published tomorrow (10 January).

Prince Harry addressed his uncle when discussing the removal of his security after he and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped down as senior royals in 2020.

As translated from a Spanish edition, Harry wrote: "Despite being involved in an embarrassing scandal, accused of having sexually abused a young woman, nobody had suggested removing his security.

"People may have a lot of grievances towards us, but sexual offences weren't one of them."

This 'embarrassing scandal' ultimately saw Prince Andrew pay Virginia Giuffre - who accused him of sexual assault - an alleged £12 million to dismiss a civil lawsuit.

ITV

Despite paying such a vast amount of money, he maintained his innocence and denied having ever met the woman, who was sex trafficked by Epstein - a known friend of the prince.

Harry explained that when Meghan considered the possibility that they may lose their royal security, Harry thought there was 'no way' this would happen.

"Never," he remembers telling her. "Not in this climate of hate. And not after what happened to my mother. Also, not in the wake of my Uncle Andrew."

Following the scandal and his links to Epstein, Prince Andrew's role within the royal family also dramatically changed.

In 2019, he stepped back from his duties when his relationship with Epstein was under the microscope, and he has since been told by the now-King Charles III that he will never return to them.

Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

After the removal of his own security, Prince Harry said it was not safe for him to return to the UK in January of last year.

A legal representative for the royal said in a statement at the time: "In absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return home.

"Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life. He remains sixth in line to the throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats.

"While his role within the Institution has changed, his profile as a member of the royal family has not. Nor has the threat to him and his family."