King Charles III was spotted out for the first time after brother Prince Andrew gave up his role within the royal family.
Charles, 76, visited Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on Monday, October 20, and showed support for the community, which was impacted by an attack during their Yom Kippur services earlier this month.
The king shook hands and greeted members of the congregation, including Rabbi Daniel Walker. The two were photographed visiting the memorial area and paying their respects by looking at the bouquets of flowers left outside the synagogue in the wake of the attack.
On October 2, a 35-year-old man drove his car into the Yom Kippur services before attacking some of the synagogue community members with a knife. Two victims were pronounced dead while others were injured. The assailant was killed by Greater Manchester Police.
“My wife and I have been deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the horrific attack in Manchester, especially on such a significant day for the Jewish community,” Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, said in a statement regarding the attack earlier this month. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this appalling incident and we greatly appreciate the swift actions of the emergency services.”
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Monday marked Charles’ first appearance after news broke on Friday, October 17, that his brother Andrew would be giving up his royal title as the former duke’s scandal with late convicted billionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein continues to make headlines. (Charles has yet to publicly address the situation, but reports state he was aware of the decision going public.)
“In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family,” Andrew said in a statement to Us Weekly on Friday. “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.”
He added, “With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honors which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
Andrew has been making headlines for his connection to Epstein since 2019. At the time, Virginia Giuffre alleged that she and Andrew had a sexual encounter in 2001, when she was 17 years old. Andrew went on BBC’s Newsnight for an infamous interview addressing the claims and denying ever meeting Giuffre. There is a photo of Andrew, Giuffre and Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell from the night in question.
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During the same interview, Andrew stated that he hadn’t spoken with Epstein since December 2010. However, emails between the two that have since resurfaced show that they corresponded throughout 2011.
Giuffre later sued Andrew for sexual abuse in 2021. The two settled outside of court for an undisclosed sum. Giuffre died by suicide at age 41 this past April.
Giuffre’s posthumously released memoir, Nobody’s Girl, further breaks down her alleged evening with Andrew more than 20 years ago.
“In the years since, I’ve thought a lot about how he behaved,” Giuffre wrote, according to an excerpt published by U.K.’s The Times. “He was friendly enough, but still entitled — as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright.”
