Prince Edward becomes first royal to publicly address Epstein files involving his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

Prince Edward has become the first member of the British royal family to publicly address the Jeffrey Epstein scandal engulfing two of its former members.

The 61-year-old, who is the youngest child of the late Queen Elizabeth II, was asked about his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor while on stage in Dubai.

He told CNN's Eleni Giokos: "Well, with the best will in the world, I'm not sure this is the audience that is probably the least bit interested in that.

"They all came here to listen to education, solving the future, but no, I think it's all really important always to remember the victims and who are the victims in all this?

"A lot of victims in this."

Prince Edward was responding to the latest release of the Epstein files, which saw three million emails and texts made public by the US Justice Department at the weekend.

His brother, 65, features hundreds of times throughout the files as does Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

The Duke of Edinburgh was speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday when he was asked directly about the scandal surrounding his brother and former sister-in-law.

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One of the files includes images of Andrew appearing to crouch over an unidentified woman lying on the floor.

Another shows an invitation to Buckingham Palace sent from the former Duke of York to Epstein.

The mention of Andrew and Ferguson within the emails do not indicate any wrongdoing. Andrew has always strenuously denied the claims made against him by Epstein's victims.

Andrew was stripped of his royal titles and told to vacate Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate, in October, by his brother King Charles.

At the time, the King and Queen Camilla issued a joint statement in which they expressed their support for Epstein's victims.

"Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse."

Andrew is currently in the process of moving to Marsh Farm, on the monarch's private Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

Andrew is due to move into temporary accommodation while Marsh Farm undergoes renovations to make it habitable.

It is not known where Ferguson will live.

On Monday, a charity the former duchess founded in 2020 announced its closure in the wake of Ferguson's friendship with the convicted sex offender.

Sarah's Trust said that it would "close for the foreseeable future".

A spokesman said: "Our chair Sarah Ferguson and the board of trustees have agreed that, with regret, the charity will shortly close for the foreseeable future.

"This has been under discussion and in train for some months."

The newly-released emails have revealed that Ferguson visited Epstein just five days after he was released from prison for child sex crimes and took her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie with her.

The emails also revealed that she offered Epstein and his friends tours of Buckingham Palace.

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