A woman who alleges she was flown to the UK by Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with Prince Andrew says she may now be ready to testify against him.
The unnamed woman, who claims she spent a night with Andrew at Royal Lodge in Windsor, previously declined to make a formal complaint to British detectives investigating trafficking claims because she did not want to “risk losing her privacy”.
Lawyer in contact with UK police
Her US lawyer, Bradley Edwards, has revealed he has been in contact with police in the UK after his client changed her mind about assisting the ongoing criminal case. The woman says she was in her 20s when, at Epstein's request, she spent a night with Andrew at Royal Lodge in 2010. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Mr Edwards said his client had gone “from a hard no, to a maybe” about speaking with the authorities in the UK. It is alleged she was also given a tour of Buckingham Palace and tea afterwards.
Concerns over privacy
Mr Edwards said he had spoken to British police about interviewing his client in the US, but nothing had been agreed. He told the Mail on Sunday: “She has gone from a hard no, to a maybe. Her main concern is to protect her child and she doesn't want her kid being harassed.”
“If those issues can be addressed it could happen. She is thinking about it. I think she should testify because what happened was wrong. But I'm not going to push her. It has to be her choice.”
Background to the case
Andrew was arrested on his 66th birthday in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office after documents released by the Trump administration appeared to show him passing sensitive information to Epstein during their decade-long friendship. In May, Thames Valley Police, which is leading the investigation, said it was widening the inquiry to include sex trafficking. The former duke denies any wrongdoing.
Mr Edwards, who has represented more than 200 alleged Epstein victims, previously sued Andrew on behalf of the late Virginia Giuffre, who alleged she had sex at 17 with the former duke of York in London, New York and on Epstein's Caribbean island. Andrew settled for a reported £12million before the case went to trial but did not admit liability.
The files released by the Department of Justice contained messages from Andrew to Epstein in 2010 talking about setting him up with a woman. Epstein offered to set the former prince up with a “friend” who was “26, russian, clevere [sic] beautiful, trustworthy”. It is not known if the woman in the email is the same one Mr Edwards represents.
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced in the US in June 2022 to 20 years in prison following her conviction on five counts of sex trafficking for luring young girls to massage rooms for Epstein to abuse. She asked the US Supreme Court to overturn her conviction, but it was thrown out. Epstein, 66, was found dead in his cell at a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's office has been contacted for comment.
