Prince Andrew fails to congratulate daughter Eugenie publicly on her first pregnancy amid Epstein scandal
Princess Eugenie is going to be a mother soon. She took to social media and shared a photo of her and husband Jack Brooksbank along with some baby boots. While the whole world congratulated them, Prince Andrew was conspicuously missing in congratulating his daughter publicly. In the post, Eugenie wrote, "Jack and I are so excited for early 2021". Mother Sarah Ferguson expressed her excitement in a statement, saying she was 'thrilled' to become a grandmother. She added: "Welcoming a new baby into the York family is going to be a moment of profound joy." Prince Charles and Camilla also posted a message of congratulations, saying: "Congratulations to HRH Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank!"
The royal family also shared the news with a brief mention of Prince Andrew, writing: "Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank are very pleased to announce that they are expecting a baby in early 2021.The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, Mr and Mrs George Brooksbank, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted with the news."
However, despite the brief mention of Prince Andrew in the royal statement, he himself has not offered any felicitations publicly. His ex-wife Fergie shared her excitement with the world, telling Hello Magazine: "Soon to be Grandpa and Granny are absolutely overjoyed."
Ever since the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, the Duke of York has preferred to stay out of the limelight. He has not posted on his social media pages since November last year when he declared that he would taking a backseat, with regard to his royal duties. He is also under severe pressure from the FBI to cooperate with them about his friendship with Epstein, who was involved in several sex-trafficking scandals. Epstein, an American financier and convicted sex offender, began his professional life as a teacher but then turned to the finance sector in various roles, working at Bear Stearns before forming his own firm. He formed an elite social circle and procured many women, including underage girls, who were then sexually abused by Epstein and some of his contacts. He was arrested in 2019 on federal charges of sex-trafficking of minors in Florida. His death remains a mystery after he was found dead in his cell on August 10, 2019.
It was just earlier this month, when Prince Andrew held crisis talks with the Queen at Balmoral over his involvement in the scandal. This came after after Virginia Giuffre accused British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell of arranging for her to have sex with Prince Andrew three times in 2001. However, Andrew refuted allegations that he slept with Roberts. He has also said that he was not aware of any illegal and criminal activities conducted by the late financier. Prince Andrew's lawyers have also insisted he has repeatedly offered to speak to the US authorities. Due to the scandal, the prince has maintained a low profile for almost a year. He offficially stepped back from public life last November after an interview with Emily Maitlis on Newsnight.