And the Duchess of York revealed she and her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, have not been numb to his torment, saying the trio have found the episode “hard” to bear. Her confession comes after it emerged Beatrice, 31, cancelled her engagement party over fears the paparazzi would wait outside the exclusive venue to catch Andrew on a night out as the scandal shows no signs of letting up. The Duke of York has repeatedly denied he slept with Virginia Giuffre when she was aged 17.

In an interview with Vogue, Fergie, 60, described the past few months as “incredibly difficult”.

When asked about her charity plans for Saudi Arabia, where she wants to build a primary care centre, and if her experience in talking out about mental health issues could come in handy, her thoughts quickly turned to the scandal.

She said: “When I talk about Prince Andrew, I talk about family because the last six months have been hard on the girls and me.

“To see such a wonderful man go through such enormous pain. He is the best man I know.

“It’s just incredible what he has done for Britain, and it’s all nonsense, so I talk about familyhood, and I’m very strong about it. The mental health of men is important and I think it is vital to articulate that more.”

The scandal surrounding the prince’s association with the disgraced billionaire and convicted sex offender resulted in his royal downfall.

Andrew’s BBC interview with presenter Emily Maitlis on his relationship wth the paedophile caused outrage when it aired last month.

Days later the palace announced the duke was stepping down from royal duties “for the foreseeable future”.

Beatrice was forced to call off her engagement celebrations at a west London venue popular with celebrities.

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Bea thought the Chiltern Firehouse was too exposed and would offer photographers too many opportunities to snap her father arriving at and leaving the venue.

After sending out invitations to pals, she was forced to backtrack on the December 18 party with fiancee Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

The billionaire convicted sex offender was found hanged in his jail cell in August.

The American financier was facing a string of accusations he had trafficked women into sexual slavery.

The number of women who alleged they fell victim to sexual abuse at the hands of Mr Epstein has reached more than a dozen.

The 66-year-old was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges when he was found dead in prison.

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