'I made a Prince Andrew joke at Mike and Zara Tindall's wedding - it was hugely inappropriate'

Former England Rugby player James Haskell has admitted that he made an inappropriate joke about Prince Andrew when he attended Mike Tindall’s wedding to Zara Phillips in July 2011. James, 39, made the admission in a column for the Times Magazine in which he discussed his opinions of the Royal Family and how he views the work they do.

He said: “I told a joke about when I was at Mike's wedding…Prince Andrew was sweating up a storm on the dancefloor, but then he realised that everyone was over 18 so he left. It was inappropriate, but it was funny.”

James’ joke was made in relation to allegations made against Prince Andrew in relation to Virginia Giuffre and his association with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Ms Giuffre, 38, alleges that Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager at the homes of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

In a 2019 interview with BBC Newsnight, he said a "problem" with her account was that a medical condition at the time meant he could not have been sweating, as she claims he was.

The Duke of York has continued to deny any wrongdoing and agreed a settlement with Giuffre in 2022. In his settlement he said that he regretted “his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others”.

As Prince Andrew is no longer a working royal the Palace has in the past declined to comment. What’s more in a separate statement on his association with Epstein, Andrew said he “deplores the exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behaviour is abhorrent”.

Outside of his joke about Andrew, James also went into detail about his views of the Royal Family and said that whilst some weren’t “as great as others” that the Firm did “amazing work”.

On those who wanted to get rid of the Royal Family he warned: “To those who want to get rid of the monarchy - once they're gone, they're gone. There's no way back from that, so remember that they serve an important role. I love what they do.”

READ MORE: Cove battery storage facility approved despite fears raised by neighbouring quarry

READ MORE: Aberdeen motorists fined more than £1.5m for going through city centre bus gates

James’ comments about Andrew come as he continues to fight to stay at Royal Lodge and was reportedly recently able to secure funds from an anonymous source in order to continue to live there.

Discussing the sudden turn of financial events on The Royal Beat, Royal editor for the Times Kate Mansey discussed how Andrew had been able to stay at Royal Lodge and his responsibilities as part of living there.

She explained: “Previously, he was there on the largesse of his older brother, the King. This wasn't public money; this was money from the King's private fund.

“To stay in Royal Lodge, which is outside that security perimeter, incidentally, at Windsor stands on its own, so it has its own security. So, that's a kind of revolving door of, you know, security 24/7 on that place.

“And part of that lease requires him to keep painting it inside and out on a, kind of, five and seven-yearly basis. So there are responsibilities that come with that commercial lease that he has to upkeep. That's not cheap."