Sarah Ferguson defends Prince Andrew as a ‘true gentleman’ in rare statement

Sarah Ferguson has defended her ex-husband Prince Andrew as a ‘true and real gentleman’ ahead of his tell-all interview about his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

In a rare statement posted to Instagram, the Duchess of York called the father of her two children ‘this giant of a principled man’ who ‘dares to put his shoulder to the wind and stands firm with his sense of honour and truth’.

The Duchess, who was married to Andrew for 10 years, posted several photos of the Duke along with an emotional statement telling Andrew to ‘stand firm’ ahead of his BBC Newsnight interview.

Clips of the ‘no holds barred’ interview, airing on Saturday night, show journalist Emily Maitlis grilling the Duke over allegations that a 17-year-old was forced into having sex with him.

He told the presenter that he had ‘no recollection’ of ever meeting the claimant but admitted he ‘let the side down’ by staying with disgraced financier Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in August.

When it was pointed out during the interview that he was staying at the house of a ‘convicted sex offender’ Andrew said that it was ‘convenient’ to stay with him and felt like the ‘honourable’ thing to do.

The duke said that with ‘hindsight’ his decision to stay at Epstein’s house was ‘definitely the wrong thing to do’ and that his judgment was ‘probably coloured’ at the time.

Taking to Instagram to defend her ex-husband, the Duchess wrote: ‘It is so rare to meet people that are able to speak from their hearts with honesty and pure real truth, that remain steadfast and strong to their beliefs.

‘Andrew is a true and real gentleman and is stoically steadfast to not only his duty but also his kindness and goodness of always seeing the best in people.

‘I am deeply supportive and proud of this giant of a principled man, that dares to put his shoulder to the wind and stands firm with his sense of honour and truth.

‘For so many years he has gone about his duties for Great Britain and The Monarch. It is time for Andrew to stand firm now, and that he has, and I am with him every step of the way and that is my honour.

‘We have always walked tall and strong, he for me and me for him. We are the best examples of joint parenting, with both our girls and I go back to my three C’s… Communicate, compromise, compassion.’

Her comments come as top media lawyer, Mark Stephens, branded Andrew’s decision to take part in the BBC interview a ‘catastrophic error’.

The lawyer famously represented James Hewitt after he was accused of having an affair with Princess Diana.

He told The Guardian: ‘This strategy only works if you’ve got a complete and full answer to every possible question, and here there are too many loose ends.

‘If he’d kept his silence he’d have been able to remain outside of the case, as he’s a witness and is entitled to diplomatic immunity.

‘He was a private individual and now he’s waived that privacy.’

Virginia Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts, is one of 16 women who says she was abused by Epstein, and also named Andrew in previous court papers.

During the interview, which is due to be aired at 9pm, Andrew told the BBC: ‘I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.’

Buckingham Palace has branded the allegations ‘false and without any foundation’ and said ‘any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors’ by the duke was ‘categorically untrue’.

According to Newsnight sources, they negotiated with Buckingham Palace for six months before it agreed to the interview.

Journalist Ms Maitlis told BBC Radio 4’s programme on Saturday that the programme went into ‘forensic detail’ regarding the allegations splashed across the front pages of British newspapers.

She said Andrew stuck to the agreement and did not veto any of her probing questions.

Ms Maitlis said: ‘I was expecting to be told it’s beneath the BBC to be questioning a senior royal about his sexual history.

‘And to be fair to the Duke of York, we had no comeback, there was no question he didn’t address, there was nothing that was off limit.’

The full interview, Prince Andrew And The Epstein Scandal: The Newsnight Interview, will air on BBC Two at 9pm on Saturday.