LONDON—Saying the accusations made against him over the years were not just disgusting but patently false, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, told reporters Monday the scandal over his alleged pedophilia was just Buckingham Palace’s attempt to cover up his ongoing battle with cancer. “Sadly, rather than being honest about a very serious threat to my health, my family and its advisors chose to distract the public from my potentially terminal condition by spreading awful rumors that I had slept with young teenage prostitutes,” said the embattled royal, adding that the longstanding allegations that he had engaged in sex with a 17-year-old at Ghislaine Maxwell’s home in London and participated in an orgy with several underage girls on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island were all part of a ploy to keep his tragic diagnosis private. “The truth is, all the witnesses who claim I groped them or sexually assaulted them when they were being trafficked as minors were paid a hefty fee by the palace to keep the spotlight off my long, arduous battle with cancer, which is a terrible disease. A lot worse than being forced to have sex with someone, I should think.” Andrew went on to ask the press for space during this difficult time, saying he was still trying to find the best way to explain his cancer to the many confused and saddened underage women in his life.