Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew’s connection explained 

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, Duke of York, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons after his association with late convicted-sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has made global headlines.

King Charles III has said that he is ‘ready to support’ the U.K. police in investigating the alleged misdemeanours of Andrew, his younger brother.  The King has also stripped the former Prince of all his royal titles and privileges in late 2025.

This comes after a long history of murky ties between the former Prince and the American sex-offender.

Here’s all you need to know about it.

Prince Andrew’s ‘friend’ Ghislaine Maxwell

In the 1990s, Andrew was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein by his long-term friend Ghislaine Maxwell, who has been found guilty of child sex-trafficking and has used her ‘Fifth Amendment Rights’ to avoid commenting on the matter. 

Also Read | Ghislaine Maxwell declined to answer questions from a House committee, citing 5th Amendment rights

In a 2019 interview, Andrew admitted that he first met Epstein in 1999 through Maxwell, the latter’s girlfriend at the time. But, a 2011 letter from his then private secretary, contradicts this and shows that Andrew knew Epstein from the early 1990s.

Common social circles

Andrew and Maxwell had been friends since their days at Oxford University in the 1980s. By the late 1990s, the trio (Maxwell, Epstein and Andrew) were so close that they were frequently seen in high-profile parties in London and New York. 

Private island visits to Balmoral stay

Andrew visited Little St. James in 1999, a private property of Epstein and one that is now in the center of the many alleged abuses committed by the deceased sex-offender.

This undated photo released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee shows Jeffrey Epstein’s island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
| Photo Credit:
(House Oversight Committee via AP)

Andrew also reportedly invited Maxwell and Epstein to stay at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. A famous photo of Maxwell and Epstein relaxing at a log cabin in the estate is available till date.

During the 2021 Maxwell trials, jurors heard testimony that Andrew travelled on Epstein’s plane, in early to mid-1990s, with a 14-year-old girl, sparking speculation about the involvement of the former Royal with Epstein. 

The years from 2000 to 2010, represents the most active period of the ties between Epstein and Andrew. 

In 2002, Andrew reportedly gave Maxwell, Epstein and actor Kevin Spacey a behind-the-scenes tour of Buckingham Palace and even allowed Spacey and Epstein to sit on the thrones. 

In July 2006, Epstein attended a high-profile masked ball at Windsor Castle, just two months after an arrest warrant had been issued by the U.S. against him for allegedly soliciting a minor. 

But the most serious incidents range from 2001, in which Virginia Giuffre alleged that she was forced to have sex with Andrew at Maxwell’s Belgravia home in March. This is the period associated with the infamous photo of Andrew with his hand around Giuffre’s waist.

Giuffre further alleged that she was also abused at Epstein’s Manhattan mansion and his private island, later that same year. 

2010 ‘breakup’

In 2010, Epstein was released from a Florida jail after serving 13 months for soliciting a minor. Soon after, Andrew visited him in New York and stayed at the Epstein mansion for several days.  This he claims was to ‘sever ties in person.’ However new documents released in 2026 show that just days before this trip, Andrew invited Epstein to Buckingham Palace for “dinner and lots of privacy.” 

Leaked emails from 2011 also show Andrew allegedly telling Epstein, months after the official split that “we are in this together and we will have to rise above it.”

Cut to 2026

In early 2026, more “Epstein Files’ were released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act which included three undated pictures of the former Prince on all fours over an unidentified woman on a striped carpet. 

New documents also show that Andrew allegedly leaked sensitive documents to Epstein while serving as the U.K. trade envoy. This is being investigated by U.K. Police to determine any violations of the Official Secrets Act. 

Emails also show Epstein offering to introduce Andrew to a “clever and beautiful” Russian woman in 2010, which he reportedly accepted. 

Published – February 10, 2026 01:02 pm IST