Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor hit out at the "sinister things going on behind closed doors" in a child abuse campaign while he was beginning a friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, it has emerged. The former Duke of York became the face of a National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) campaign cracking down on abuse towards children in 1999, the same year he is thought to have met Epstein.
Speaking to OK! Magazine to launch the crusade, Andrew said: "As the father of two young children, I simply could not sit back and do nothing."
"We have to make sure that our children don't accept abuse," he added.
"They should not have to take responsibility for their own protection. It's the sinister stuff that goes on behind closed doors that we need to worry about."
The King's younger brother reportedly met Epstein through Ghislaine Maxwell in 1999, with flight logs showing the pair travelling together to the US Virgin Islands in February.
The OK! Magazine feature included photos of Andrew in his office at Buckingham Palace and other figures involved in the NSPCC campaign such as Peter Mandelson, who was fired from his role as US ambassador last year over his own links to the late financier.
The former duke described the cause as a matter of "immense urgency and importance", adding that his only "conflict" in supporting it was whether "there was going to be enough time in terms of what I am doing with the Navy".
He also called for preventing child abuse to become "the social cause of the millennium", adding: "Nobody should be fearful of interference if it is necessary."
Giles Pegram, former director of fundraising at the NSPCC, who was responsible for the campaign fronted by Andrew, described the resurfaced article as "horrible", especially for including both Andrew and Mandelson.
"Do I regret it? Yes, obviously I do," he told the Sunday Times. "If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have done it. If there was a scandal that was related to children, we wouldn't have come within a mile of it."
Andrew was stripped of his titles following outcry about his association with Epstein, who was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008, and arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in February.
The 66-year-old faces accusations of sharing sensitive information with Epstein while acting as a special representative for trade and investment between 2001 and 2011.
Despite his calls for people to speak up on the topic in 1999, Andrew has so far refused to be interviewed by US investigators looking into Epstein's crimes.
Andrew has denied any wrongdoing over his association with Epstein, but has not directly responded to the latest allegations.
