Prince Andrew’s ex-girlfriend, Lady Victoria Hervey has insisted that her friend Ghislaine Maxwell was a ‘victim’ of Jeffrey Epstein.
The socialite, 44, the daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bristol appeared on Lorraine earlier today where she said the pair were ‘a double act’ but she ‘sees Ghislaine as a victim’.
Lady Victoria told the morning breakfast presenter: ‘She is a scapegoat right now, so unfortunately for her, she is being taken down for what he has done as well. Some might argue is not quite as fair as it could be.’
Maxwell, 60, was convicted of facilitating the sexual abuse of minors by her former partner, Jeffrey Epstein, on December 29. She faces 65 years in prison, meaning she could spend the rest of her life behind bars.
She was found guilty on five of six counts of sex trafficking – a spectacular downfall for the former London society girl who later moved into the highest circles of New York’s social scene.
Lady Victoria said: ‘I mean to be honest I think Ghislaine was a victim and is a victim.
‘She was a victim that then became the accomplice as her role changed in that relationship when they were no longer together.
‘She kind of switched sides. I do see her as a victim as well.’
Lorraine went on to question the socialite over her own connections with the pair, saying: ‘Why do you think, if you were just an ordinary girl with no connections, do you think she specifically wanted you in that place?’
Victoria said: ‘At the time I was the IT girl of London, on the social scene, everyone knew me, I was at every dinner event.
‘It was a plus having me on her list of who to invite. It probably kept it more interesting for all the men she was entertaining.
‘Obviously, you want to have attractive girls who are the hot girls in London at the time.’
She added that Jeffrey and Ghislaine were ‘definitely a double act’, saying: ‘It wouldn’t have worked with him on his own.
‘It was a lot easier for her to approach other women being a female.
Girls would feel less intimated and less scared, rather than a man. It would have been a lot less obvious in that respect.’
Lady Victoria confessed she felt ‘used’ by the duo, but added she ‘had fun at the time.’
She said: ‘I was so naiive. People in my situation that were really young, of course, we were going to get taken advantage of.
‘We were just a pretty face to have entertain people. I was one of the lucky ones and I’m aware of that.’
According to her, she had no idea that anything was going on during parties with the group, saying: ‘Besides the situation of having a feeling there were video cameras in the apartment, it was social gatherings and dinner parties. It all seemed very fun at the time.’
‘This is in the early 2000s when no one had any idea of what people found out later on but the early 2000s, people wanted Ghislaine and Jeffrey at all their events. They were invited there everywhere.
Lady Victoria continued: ‘She is, unfortunately, a scapegoat right now, because there’s no one else to blame.
‘So unfortunately for her she is being taken down for what he’s done as well, which some might argue is not quite as fair as it could be but that is the situation she is in right now.’
On the infamous picture of Prince Andrew and Virgina Giuffre, Lady Victoria offered: ‘That was stupid.’
And asked if Ghislaine ever spoke to her about her friendship with Prince Andrew, Lady Victoria admitted: ‘No. I mean, she was really quite private about a lot, but obviously, they were good friends. You can just tell by the body language when you see people, when they’re good friends.
‘I don’t know what’s going to happen now in terms of the sentencing, how many years they’re going to give her.’
Disgraced socialite Ghislaine is set to be sentenced on sex trafficking crimes on June 28.
