US PRESIDNT DONALD Trump has said he feels “badly” for the UK royal family after their King Charles revoked his brother Andrew’s title of prince over his scandalous ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“I feel very badly. I mean, it’s a terrible thing that’s happened to the family,” Trump said when asked by an AFP reporter aboard Air Force One about the recent saga.

“That’s been a tragic situation, and it’s too bad. I mean, I feel badly for the family.”

Trump (79) has faced political struggles of his own in recent months over his own alleged relationship with Epstein, the New York financier and who died in prison in 2019.

Trump’s comments came as the British government said it would move to strip the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, of his honorary title of vice-admiral, his last remaining military rank.

The US president has frequently expressed admiration for Britain’s royal family, most recently when Charles hosted him for a lavish state visit in September.

Trump received a full state dinner at Windsor Castle, military parades and a flyover during the visit.

But the so-called Epstein files have been the focal point of a controversy engulfing the second presidency of Trump, who was a longtime friend of Epstein.

In July, the Trump administration announced that it had discovered no new evidence justifying the release of additional documents or the opening of a new investigation into the matter.

Epstein died while awaiting trial for alleged sex trafficking of underage girls recruited to provide him with sexual massages.

Andrew was stripped of his other honorary military titles by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, in 2022 after he was sued by Virginia Giuffre, Epstein’s main accuser.

The king’s younger brother was once feted for his role as a Royal Navy helicopter pilot in the 1982 Falklands War. He retired in 2001 after 22 years of service.

Andrew has always denied that he sexually abused Giuffre, who said in her posthumous memoir published in October that she was trafficked to have sex with him on three occasions, twice when she was just 17.

– © AFP2025