Ghislaine Maxwell may 'never' speak about Prince Andrew and his ties to her and Epstein, her friend told the BBC

• Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested Thursday in New Hampshire on charges related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
• On Saturday, the BBC's Radio 4 Today program featured an interview with Laura Goldman, who says she became friends with Maxwell in the 1990s in New York.
• Goldman told the BBC that Maxwell had told her that she would "never" speak about Prince Andrew.
• Prince Andrew stepped away from public royal duties as the Duke of York in November following an interview with "BBC Newsnight" where he spoke about his friendship with Epstein.
• US prosecutors are urging Prince Andrew to provide information about Epstein and Maxwell.

Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime girlfriend and confidante of Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested by the FBI on Thursday at a New Hampshire mansion.

On Saturday, the BBC's Radio 4 Today program featured an interview with Laura Goldman, who identifies as a friend of Maxwell. Goldman, a former investment banker, said that she and Maxwell met in New York in 1990.

Goldman told the BBC that she had spoken to Maxwell within the past month, and said that she thinks Maxwell will not speak up about Prince Andrew's reported ties to Epstein.

"She's always told me that she would never, ever, say anything about [Prince Andrew]. You know, I think she felt that he was her friend and she was never, ever, going to say anything about him," Goldman told the BBC. "She really felt that in the '90s, when her father died, that Prince Andrew was there for her, in many ways."

Goldman added that she thinks Maxwell "knew she was coming to the end of the road."

"Initially, she had told me that she had felt that she was going to be fine because of the immunity provision. But I think in recent months she saw the furor hadn't died," Goldman said. "You know, when Jeffrey initially died, she was relieved, she thought it was over. I don't think she understood. And listen, I applaud the victims. They have fought an uphill battle to get her immunity thrown out and I applaud them."

Prince Andrew has been urged by US prosecutors to cooperate with an investigation

In November, Prince Andrew announced that he would step down from his public royal duties. The announcement came four days after he gave an interview on "BBC Newsnight," in which he gave two alibis and claimed that a now-infamous photo taken of him with his hand around the waist of Virginia Roberts Giuffre was fake.

Prince Andrew's interview was ridiculed in British news outlets. Critics pointed out the royal's excuses and backtracking, and some called it a "car crash" of a TV appearance.

"It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family's work and the valuable work going on in the many organizations and charities that I am proud to support," Prince Andrew wrote in a statement in November.

In his November statement, Prince Andrew said that he agreed to cooperate with "any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required."

US prosecutors say that Prince Andrew still has yet to speak with them regarding his ties to Epstein and Maxwell.

Maxwell faces six charges connected to the Epstein case

Insider's Haven Orecchio-Egresitz previously reported that a federal indictment out of the Southern District of New York brings six charges against Maxwell.

According to the indictment, Maxwell is accused of grooming and helping to entice girls and young women who would then be directed to give Epstein massages and engage in sexual acts.

Maxwell has not only been accused of helping to lure in victims who were sexually abused by Epstein, but she also faces accusations of being an abuser herself. On Friday, an unnamed woman told Fox News that Maxwell had raped her more than 20 times when the victim was as young as 14 years old.

Representatives for the Office of the Duke of York did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Listen to an excerpt from the BBC's Radio 4 Today interview with Laura Goldman.

• Read more:
• What to know about British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's alleged madam who was just arrested by the FBI
• Prince Andrew says his BBC Newsnight interview is a 'source of regret' and that he 'should have been sympathetic' to Epstein victims
• How Prince Andrew's voluntary decision to do a prime-time interview about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein set his reputation on fire and tanked his royal career