Jeffrey Epstein, Chanel Miller
Prince Andrew’s connection to the paedophile raises more questions
PRINCE ANDREW HAS once again been drawn into the escalating sex scandal involving disgraced multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein. It’s been revealed the Duke of York flew on Epstein’s private jet – dubbed ‘the Lolita Express’ – just weeks after the financier was arrested for child prostitution charges in 2006.
According to London’s The Sun newspaper, the duke flew on Epstein’s Gulfstream jet from Luton to Edinburgh on September 1, 2006. Also aboard the flight was Ghislaine Maxwell, who has been accused of procuring underage girls for Epstein. “It is another example of Andrew’s close ties to the Epstein scandal,” a source told The Sun.
The duke’s name appears in a handwritten flight manifesto kept by pilot David Rodgers. Maxwell’s initials are also in the manifesto, which was among court papers relating to Epstein released last month. Epstein himself wasn’t on the flight because he had been arrested in July, eight days after attending Andrew’s daughter Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday celebrations. Maxwell, then Epstein’s girlfriend, was also reportedly at the lavish party at Windsor Castle, as was Hollywood heavyweight and rapeaccused Harvey Weinstein.
Epstein, 66 when he died, was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges before he killed himself in his New York jail cell on August 10. One of his alleged teen sex slaves, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, has alleged she was 15 when Maxwell recruited her to work as Epstein’s masseuse. In unsealed court documents, Giuffre claims she had threesomes with
Epstein and Maxwell. Giuffre also alleges she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times. The prince has denied the allegations, issuing a statement which said he would not “condone, participate in or encourage” the kinds of activities Epstein was alleged to have engaged in.
But there are signs the Epstein scandal is taking its toll on the duke. Andrew, now back on official royal duties, is reported to have recently had an intense exchange with a senior member of staff. So serious was the exchange, according to The Mail on Sunday, that Andrew’s older brother, Prince Charles, 70, was forced to intervene, and asked Andrew, 59, to apologise. A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said told the newspaper: “Some time ago there was a disagreement between the Duke of York and a member of staff. The disagreement was resolved and there are no ongoing issues.”
Elsewhere, Joichi Ito, the director of the Media Lab at MIT in the US, resigned on September 7 amid allegations Epstein directed donations to the university. According to CNN, Ito and at least one other person allegedly tried to ensure Epstein’s name was not associated with donations. Documents obtained by CNN – and reported on by The New Yorker – allegedly reveal Epstein was involved with donations of $2 million from Bill Gates and at least $5 million from American investor Leon Black.