18:47 PST 3/4/2021
in
Abid Rahman
The co-author of a Sussex biography questioned why Buckingham Palace had not yet investigated allegations of sexual abuse against the Queen’s son.
The Royal Family was accused of “double standards” in ordering an investigation into the allegations of bullying against Meghan Markle, but was unable to investigate allegations of sexual abuse against Prince Andrew.
In an interview with Sky News, Carolyn Durand, co-author of the biography about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex entitled Finding Freedom, said “there were a lot of double standards” in the treatment that Buckingham Palace gave Markle and Prince Andrew and asked, “Why is there an investigation into this bullying, but there has not been an investigation into Prince Andrew and the allegations surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and the women who made allegations? “
She added, “Why was he not urged to cooperate with the American authorities? Why were Prince Harry’s military honors withdrawn, but Prince Andrew’s honors were not?”
Durand was reacting to the news that Buckingham Palace would investigate the charges of bullying made against Markle by two of her employees while she was working as a royal, after a report The times published Tuesday.
Prince Andrew was involved in the Epstein scandal after Virginia Roberts Guiffre claimed she was paid by Epstein to have sex with royalty when she was 17, the first of three sexual encounters she claims to have occurred between them. In a notorious interview with the BBC in November 2019, the prince denied the charges. In May 2020, the prince announced that he was leaving his royal duties, but Buckingham Palace never ordered an investigation into the charges.
A press war broke out between the Sussex and the Royal Family in the days leading up to the couple’s long-awaited interview with Oprah Winfrey due to air on CBS on Sunday. In teaser clips, Winfrey says “nothing is off limits” and promises that some “shocking things” will be said during his two-hour meeting with Prince Harry and Markle.
In a new clip released Thursday, Winfrey asks Markle how she feels about the palace hearing the couple speak their truth. “I don’t know how they could expect that, after all this time, we would still be silent if there was an active role the company is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us,” Markle tells Winfrey. “And if it comes with the loss of things, I mean, it’s been long since lost.”