"Tragic Situation": Trump On Andrew Losing Royal Titles Over Epstein Ties

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he felt "badly" for the UK royal family after King Charles stripped his younger brother Andrew of his titles and forced him out of the Windsor home over his links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"It's a terrible thing that's happened to the family. That's been a tragic situation, and it's too bad. I mean, I feel badly for the family," Trump said.

Donald 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."
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— Lucas Sanders 💙🗳️🌊💪🌈🚺🟧 (@LucasSa56947288) November 3, 2025

Buckingham Palace made the announcement last week, leaving Andrew to now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. In a statement, the Palace said a formal notice was served to Andrew to surrender the lease of his Royal Lodge mansion on the Windsor Estate, and he will relocate to an alternative private accommodation on the Sandringham Estate in eastern England.

Additionally, the UK government said it would move to strip the former royal of his honorary title of vice-admiral, his last remaining military rank. Andrew was stripped of his honorary military titles by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, in 2022 after he was sued by Virginia Giuffre, Epstein's main accuser.

"We've seen Andrew surrender the honorary positions he's had throughout the military. Guided again by the King, we are working now to remove that last remaining title of vice-admiral that he has," UK defence minister John Healey said.

Andrew's links to Epstein

The Former Duke of York reportedly first met Epstein in 1999 through the former's then-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. In 2008, Epstein was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution and was handed an 18-month jail sentence. Despite this, Andrew and Epstein were seen together walking through Central Park in New York in 2010.

Andrew had claimed that he had ended his friendship with Epstein.

Recently-released emails revealed that Andrew had told Epstein it would be "good to catch up in person" months after the disgraced financier was released from jail for sex crimes. The emails, dated April 15, 2010, showed the convicted sex offender suggesting that Andrew meet Jes Staley, a former JPMorgan Chase executive who was banned for life from the UK banking sector in June for misleading regulators about his relationship with Epstein.

To this, Andrew responded: "I have no immediate plans to drop by New York, but I think I should at some stage soon. I'll look and see if I can make a couple of days before the summer. It would be good to catch up in person."

Andrew also faced mounting pressure after the publication of Giuffre's memoir and reports about his rent-free arrangement at Royal Lodge earlier this year. Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, had said that she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions, including when she was 17.

Andrew, however, consistently denied the claims.

Trump has also been linked to Epstein, with Democrats and some Republicans demanding that his administration release government files related to the Epstein case. While Trump had acknowledged he knew Epstein socially, he said he had a falling out with him before the sex offender died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sexually abusing multiple teenage girls.