Prince Andrew has it all. He was the beloved son of the Queen, a war hero and a "playboy" many admired.

But Prince Andrew has recently faced a lot of scandals and controversy, in which his relationship with American pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein is causing him trouble.

The murmur about the interactions between Prince Andrew and Epstein has been around for a long time, but exploded when he first agreed to participate in an interview with the BBC about the issue. The content revealed in the interview sparked a wave of protest against Prince Andrew on British media and on social networks.

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, told BBC correspondent Emily Maitlis during a broadcast last week that he didn't notice anything suspicious when befriending Epstein, who hanged himself at the camp. jailed in August pending trial of allegations of sexual abuse of minors and prostitution.

Prince Andrew's name appeared in a file published by the US court in August, after he was accused of molesting a young girl at Epstein's mansion in Manhattan, New York.

However, Prince Andrew explained that he went to stay at Epstein's mansion in Manhattan because it was "convenient". Asked if he felt "guilty, regretted or ashamed" for his actions and his friendship with Epstein, the Prince said he simply "made the wrong decision" when he went to see Epstein. in 2010.

The prince shared that he disappointed the royal family for maintaining his relationship with Epstein, even though he knew that the US billionaire was sentenced to prison for a minor prostitution in 2008 and was listed by the FBI. list of sexual offenses.

"I was with him and it tormented me almost every day," Prince Andrew said in an interview filmed at Buckingham Palace. "That's not something a member of the royal family should be involved in. We are trying to maintain the highest standards and etiquette but I have disappointed people, simply like that."

Prince Andrew is the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and younger brother Prince Charles. He was originally the second on the throne, but dropped to third after Prince William was born. His succession hierarchies increasingly declined every time new members of the royal family were born. He currently stands at 8th position.

Becoming a "contingent successor" seems to be a difficult role for Prince Andrew. All his life, he only saw his chances of succession shrinking, but the Prince still faced the eyes of scrutiny and great expectations for a royal member.

"When you think of Prince Andrew, you will only think of three things," said Richard Fitzwilliams, a British royal commentator. "His faithful service in the Falkland war, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who was once a royal disaster, and now, the connection with Epstein."

According to Fitzwilliam, Prince Andrew is the beloved son of the Queen, as evidenced by his childhood.

"When Prince Charles and Princess Anne were born, the Queen was unable to spend time with them as she wished," Fitzwilliams said. By the time Prince Andrew was born, the Queen had been crowned for a few years so "she could pay more attention to him".

Unlike his brother Charles, Prince Andrew does not go to college. Instead, he joined the Royal Navy. A few years later, he traveled to the Atlantic to join the fight for the Falkland Islands with Argentina. Time spent fighting in Falkland helped him become a hero returning from the war.

At that moment, Sarah Ferguson entered his life.

Prince Andrew and Ferguson, also known as "Fergie", was once considered "perfect love" in the eyes of the British public in the late 1980s. Their wedding attracted millions of viewers via television . Tens of thousands of people lined up in the streets of England on the wedding day. The New York Times even called it a "Fergie fever".

As a commoner, Ferguson is expected to bring new breeze to the British royal family. But according to some, the wind she brought was "too new". "There is no doubt that he and Sarah are bubbly, colorful people, living exaggeratedly," commented Fitzwilliams.

The salty time between the two quickly ended. Prince Andrew and his wife separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996, after a series of scandals. However, both remain close.

Demobilized in 2001, Prince Andrew began to become "full-time royal member". He became the UK's special representative for international trade and investment, traveling the world to promote the country's image.

The work ended abruptly just a few months after he was discovered to be traveling with Epstein in Central Park, New York City, USA, in 2010. At that time, Epstein had just finished serving a 13-month prison sentence. with allegations of prostitution.

According to Prince Andrew, he first met Epstein in 1999 and the two only "met once in a while, no more than once or twice a year". The prince also acknowledged staying "some of Epstein's mansions".

The Prince always insisted he never thought Epstein had behaviors to which he was charged. But the statement was skeptical when Prince Andrew kept in touch with Epstein after the US billionaire accepted an agreement to accept two prostitution offenses before the New York prosecuting agency in 2008 to receive a lighter sentence.

Prince Andrew began to get noticed after Virginia Roberts, a victim of Epstein, accused the Prince of having sex with her when she was 17, under the arrangement of Epstein. Roberts accused Epstein of keeping her as a young sex slave.

Prince Andrew stated that "all information about his inappropriate behavior towards minors is not true". He claimed he had never witnessed or suspected Epstein of juvenile abuse, but admitted he had "made a mistake" because he met an American billionaire in 2010.

The Epstein-related scandal caused a double dilemma for Prince Andrew, when his daughter, Princess Eugenie, was participating in a charity against modern slavery.

"That friendship is completely toxic to the Prince," Fitzwilliams commented.