Trump ‘feels badly’ for royal family after Prince Andrew loses title over Epstein links
Trump on Prince Andrew and the Epstein scandal: "I feel very badly. I mean, it's a terrible thing that's happened to the family. That's been a tragic situation. And it's too bad. I feel badly for the family." pic.twitter.com/kkUDFkGM9y
— Brown (@Brown_1152) November 3, 2025
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump expressed sympathy for Prince Andrew’s family, calling the stripping of his royal titles a “tragic situation” linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
Last week, King Charles removed Andrew’s royal titles following his 2022 settlement with accuser Virginia Giuffre and the continued fallout from the Epstein scandal.
Trump expresses sympathy for Prince Andrew as Epstein scandal resurfaces
President Donald Trump said he feels “badly” for the royal family as controversy continues over Prince Andrew’s ties to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump addressed King Charles’ decision to strip his brother of his peerages and the title of prince while speaking to reporters on board Air Force One late Sunday, November 2. Trump said, “It’s a terrible thing that’s happened to the [royal] family. That’s been a tragic situation. It’s too bad. I feel badly for the family.”
This comes after officials announced last week that Andrew will no longer be known as a prince and must leave Royal Lodge. In a bombshell statement released Thursday night, Buckingham Palace confirmed he will now go by Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
The palace explained that the “censures are deemed necessary” amid the ongoing Epstein scandal, noting that Andrew had lied about severing ties with the disgraced financier.
Prince Andrew to lose honorary vice admiral rank as UK government confirms removal
Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed that the government will strip Prince Andrew of his honorary rank of vice admiral, which he received on his 55th birthday in 2015, earlier on Sunday, November 2.
This rank is Andrew’s last remaining honorary military title, following his return of other honors in 2022 amid the Epstein scandal.
When asked whether Andrew could keep his medals, including the campaign medal for his service in the Falklands War, Healey declined to comment. He added that the Ministry of Defence would follow the King’s decisions.
Sources within the Ministry of Defence said they are reviewing whether Andrew will revert to his active-duty rank of commander or lose his naval rank entirely. Andrew’s Duke of York title has already been removed from the Roll of Peerages.
Andrew has had ties to the Royal Navy since 1979, when he began officer training at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. He later served as a helicopter pilot and joined the task force that retook the Falklands following Argentina’s invasion in 1982.
He retired from active service in 2001 with the rank of commander but later received honorary promotions, including to vice admiral in 2015.
