How the Prince led predators into the heart of the Palace
By what means did Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell become trusted friends of the Duke of York, asks Nigel Cawthorne
What must the Queen have thought when she learnt that friends of her favourite son had been implicated in sexual abuse scandals? As a mother, she would have been worried about the company Prince Andrew was keeping. But as a monarch, she would have been furious.
Not only had the Duke of York shown incredibly poor judgment, he had also allowed Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell into the highest level of the establishment – inviting them to family events at her palaces – and allowed these predators to trade off that status.
We will never know when the Queen discovered who Andrew’s friends were. But, for her subjects, the truth came out on September 23 2007, when a Sunday paper – mimicking his own Spitting Image puppet – claimed that the Prince, who had long played up to the role of a dim but otherwise harmless royal, had laid a hand on the breast of a young woman. He and the woman had both been guests of Epstein, who was about to plead guilty in Florida to sex complaints by underage girls, the youngest a 14-year-old alleging the use of a sex toy.
In 2010, a year after Epstein’s release from prison, Andrew was photographed in New York’s Central Park, during a four-day stay at Epstein’s mansion, explaining to the billionaire that they could no longer stay friends.
A photograph of the prince holding a girl by her naked midriff, taken two days after the puppet incident but first published in 2011, added to the Prince’s troubles. Behind them was a beaming Maxwell. The girl? Virginia Roberts Giuffre, then an unknown teenager but now recognised as one of the most high-profile victims of Epstein and a campaigner for victims of sex trafficking.
So when the FBI began requesting that Prince Andrew make himself available for interview in connection with Epstein, it became clear just how deeply he had allowed the duo to infiltrate his royal life.
But what drove that need to allow
Andrew and Maxwell were frequent fliers on Epstein’s private jet the ‘Lolita Express’
access to one of the most exclusive families in the world? Was it loneliness, naivety, an inability to distinguish flattery from true friends? Did they share a sense of humour? Or did the threesome simply share an understanding that everything has its price – even a Royal relationship?
There is no doubt that the crucial relationship was between Maxwell and Andrew, who had been friends, it has been said – perhaps even on-again off-again lovers – since the early 1980s. Then, both were at the height of their gilded youth: she was a star at Balliol College, Oxford, he was the dashing and adored Falklands hero. Perhaps their paths crossed at the polo or a naval ball?
By the time Maxwell had moved to New York after the death of her father in 1991, they were firm friends; as witnessed by the way Andrew encouraged her to include nclud her new boyfriend, Epstein, , in their circle, something that became well documented in the e social pages. After r Andrew split from m his wife Sarah Ferguson in 1995, , relations became e closer.
Andrew and Maxwell were seen on holiday y with Epstein at Donald Trump’s ’s Mar-a-Lago Club ub in Palm Beach, , Florida. Then came the invitations to Maxwell and Epstein in Britain. They y attended Royal Ascot together in June 2000, with Epstein in wearing a coveted badge to into the
Enclosure, a privilege normally granted only to those personally sponsored by a long-standing attendee. That same month, Epstein and Maxwell were invited to the “Dance of the Decades” party at Windsor Castle, hosted by the Queen to mark Andrew’s 40th birthday, y, the Princess Royal’s 50th, Princess Margaret’s 70th and the Queen Mother’s 100th. It was nothing thing like l the ball for Andrew’s 21st birthday, birthd day, which had featured music c by DJ J Kenny Everett and glamorous orous guests including Elton John. hn. This dance was for close friends, many of them with th ancient titles. Maxwell and nd Epstein must have been considered special indeed. d.
Later that summer, Andrew also took Maxwell to the wedding of his former girlfriend, the Hon Aurelia Cecil, in Wiltshire.
Then, in October 2000, Andrew was seen with Maxwell and Epstein back in New
York, at Victoria’s Secret model Heidi Klum’s
S&M-themed M Hallowe’en party at Manhattan’s M Hudson Bar. Photographs Pho show Andrew with Maxwell, Max dressed in tight gold trousers trou and a blonde wig, with her arm around him.
The T three amigos were back in Britain Brit for a shooting party at Sandringham San that December, mentioned men in Prince Andrew’s disastrous disa Newsnight interview. And A who can forget the picture of Maxwell Max sitting on the throne inside Buckingham Buc Palace, alongside actor Kevin Kev Spacey, thought to have been taken take in 2002.
But B perhaps most shocking is the picture pict of Maxwell and Epstein taken in 1999, 19 while relaxing at the Queen’s estate esta at Balmoral, the private holiday home hom of the Royal family. This is the ultimate ulti getaway for the monarch and her loved ones. Tradition dictates that the sitting prime minister and their spouse sp are invited once a year, but casual ca friends of minor royals? Never. It’s worth noting, too, that throughout th the friendship, Andrew and an Maxwell were frequent fliers on Epstein’s private jet, the “Lolita Express”. Both the pilot and one of Maxwell’s M accusers at her sextrafficking trial testified they had seen the Prince on board, although they had seen nothing untoward occurring. Meanwhile, Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson seemed to have no issue with the connection; Maxwell and Epstein were pictured together – with disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein – at Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday party at Windsor in 2006.
Of course, there is no suggestion that Andew knew what these friends were really like. However, all of these social events occurred during a timeframe when the sex crimes Epstein and Maxwell were convicted of took place.
What remains astonishing is that Maxwell and Epstein had joined the tiny group of ordinary people who have grown up nowhere near the Palace, and can boast no relatives who are courtiers or aristocrats, yet are trusted enough by the Royal family to enter their private domain.
Remember, Royals are brought up not no to trust outsiders who might use them th or talk about them. Due to press coverage cov from an early age, Prince Charles Ch was so loath to meet strangers that tha it made him seem shy to the extreme. extr Any friend who reveals secrets will be shunned for life. Younger Royals seem to have a wider selection of friends, but who are the best friends of Charles, Anne and Edward? No one knows.
So what possessed Andrew to make these acquaintances such close pals? Was it loneliness after his marriage broke down? Or perhaps they treated him as always the most important person in the room – not the second son, whose place in the line of succession was diminishing fast.
Perhaps that’s why even when Epstein foundered, Andrew did not sever his friendship with Maxwell, who continued working for the disgraced financier. They were certainly still in touch in 2015 when he emailed her seeking advice on how to deal with the allegations Roberts Giuffre was making.
And even after Epstein died in prison awaiting fresh sex charges in 2019 and Maxwell went to ground, the Sun reported that Prince Andrew had not cut his ties with her.
“They have remained constantly in touch by phone and email,” a source told the newspaper. “The Duke has an unswerving loyalty to Ghislaine and she is very loyal to him. They both share the view they have done nothing wrong. They talk regularly. If he wasn’t in the spotlight at the moment, he would have found a way to meet up with her.”
Now that friendship – whatever it was based on – could force Andrew to face up to his lack of o initial judgment and the consequences that come when you y perhaps trade centuries of o caution for cash c and compliments. complim There is one friend fr left who will never leave leav Andrew’s corner: the Queen. But, unlike her h son, she is reticence reticenc itself.
We will w never know what she s thinks of her favourite favou son allowing allow such an evil pairing pair into her homes. hom But, then again, again perhaps neither will he. he