King Charles breaks cover for first time since Prince Andrew named in court documents

The Duke of York was named in newly released files that relate to a 2015 defamation case brought by Virginia Giuffre against Jeffrey Epstein's close associate, jailed British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.

Giuffre has accused Prince Andrew of abusing her when she was a teenager.

Prince Andrew has always strenuously denied Ms Giuffre’s claims.

The Duke of York settled a claim by Ms Giuffre for an undisclosed sum in 2022 without admitting any wrongdoing.

Prince William feels Prince Andrew's links to the late Epstein will "haunt" the Royal Family, according to an insider.

The source told the Mirror: "William was very clear [that in his view] Andrew can not be trusted.

"There are investigations and revelations emerging in the cases brought by Epstein’s victims.

"This will haunt Andrew and the family forever. In William’s view, [Andrew] should have no role with the family at all."

However, King Charles will not exile his brother following the latest revelations, according to an insider.

They said: "Charles promised his late mother he would not abandon Andrew once she was gone and that remains the situation unless, of course, he finds himself engaged in a criminal matter."

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Andrew has locked himself away in a room and is devastated after he was named in newly released court documents, a source has claimed.

The Duke of York has "no idea" how to respond to the newly released documents, according to an insider.

The source told the Mail: "He doesn't have the emotional bandwidth to deal with this."

They added: "He has locked himself away in a room and has no idea how to respond. He's devastated."