Trump says UK royals suffered ‘terrible thing’ with pressure over Epstein scandal

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(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said he felt badly for the British royal family after King Charles stripped his brother Andrew of his title as prince amid mounting pressure over Andrew’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“It’s a terrible thing that’s happened to the family,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after he was asked about Charles’ action. “That’s been a tragic situation and it’s too bad. I mean, I feel badly for the family.”

Buckingham Palace on Thursday announced that Charles had stripped Andrew, 65, of his title of prince and forced him out of his Windsor home, seeking to distance the royal family from him over his links to the Epstein scandal. It was one of the most dramatic moves against a member of the royal family in modern British history.

Trump, a one-time friend of Epstein’s, has faced his own woes related to the disgraced financier’s downfall, with Democrats — and some Republicans — demanding that his administration release government files related to the Epstein case.

While acknowledging he knew Epstein socially years ago, Trump has said he had a falling-out with the disgraced financier long before Epstein’s 2019 death in jail while awaiting trial on charges of sexually abusing multiple teenage girls. Hundreds of women have said Epstein abused them.

In September, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives made public a birthday note that Trump purportedly wrote to Epstein more than 20 years ago. The letter, whose authenticity the White House denies, includes the line, “May every day be another wonderful secret.”    

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Sergio Non and Christian Schmollinger)