THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Duke of York is "very worried" about whether he can continue as Britain's trade envoy amid the controversy over his ties to a convicted paedophile, a friend has said.
Goga Ashkenazi, a Kazakh socialite, said that the Duke sent her a BlackBerry message over the weekend expressing his anguish about the coverage of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
He contacted her after the Sunday newspapers contained fresh details over his involvement with the American billionaire, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Last month a picture emerged of the Duke with his arm around Virginia Roberts. The image was taken while she was employed by Epstein as a masseuse but she alleges he sexually exploited her while a teenage minor.
The Government rallied round the Duke yesterday with David Cameron's official spokesman saying the Prime Minister was "fully supportive" of him staying on.
The comments were in contrast to earlier media reports which quoted an unnamed Whitehall source as saying there would not be "many tears shed" if Andrew quit.
Ms Ashkenazi, a long-time friend of the Duke's, revealed his state of mind in an interview with the Evening Standard. >>> | Tuesday, March 08, 2011
LONDON EVENING STANDARD: Prince Andrew: I'm very worried about keeping my role >>> David Cohen | Tuesday, March 08, 2011
LONDON EVENING STANDARD: 'Prince Andrew is not the villain. He's a superb trade envoy' >>> David Cohen | Tuesday, March 08, 2011
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