## JAMES PATTERSON

FIL

where "Andrew was pictured on a yacht surrounded by topless women."

According to Roberts's lawsuit, Epstein had forced her into the prince's bed on Little Saint Jeff's.

After Epstein's conviction, the British press were using another name for Little Saint Jeff's: Sex Island. The Guardian reported that the manager of two Virgin Islands-based corporations owned by Epstein happened to be the wife of the governor of the Virgin Islands. There were allegations involving a million-dollar dona- tion that Epstein had made to the governor's reelection cam- paign. And then there was Roberts's claim that she had been forced to have sex with the prince on the island as well as in New York and in London.

Invariably, the photograph of Prince Andrew with his arm around the bare midriff of a very young-looking Virginia Rob- erts ran with stories that appeared in the tabloids.

"It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship" with Roberts, Buckingham Palace spokespersons would say. "The allegations made are false and without any foundation."

The prince's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, while on a skiing trip with the prince and their daughter Euge- nie in Switzerland, told reporters, "He is the greatest man there is. It was the finest moment of my life in 1986 when I married him. He is a great man, the best in the world."

"I won't stand by-because I know what it feels like to have salacious lies made up about you—and not support him so pub- licly because they are just shockingly accusatory allegations,

which I don't think is right," s viewed by Today host Matt La and as a great father and a h work he does for Britain I w character defamed to this leve But at the same time, a c good man's fall from grace, a out of the woodwork to dish to "I've seen him treat his st said a former aide to the prince personal protection officers, ground and demanding they graces at all. Sure, if you're a la then I bet he's utterly charming

Despite all this, the prince had a photo, frequently trotted out! strolling in Central Park.

Some few months before it businessman had secretly tap five hundred thousand pounds "If you want to meet him ir "look after me, and he'll look aft "Once again," she said aft pounded and rebounded and als most in the world: the Duke."

Prince Andrew had had his real estate deals, sticky roman ment dumps (courtesy of Juliar

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