A trove of newly released documents has revealed that Prince Andrew, formally known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, invited convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to dinner at Buckingham Palace just days after Epstein's house arrest concluded. The astonishing email exchange, dated September 2010, was among over three million documents, including 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, published by the US Department of Justice.
Palace Invitation and Private Time
In the email, Epstein requested 'private time' during a visit to London, to which Andrew responded: 'We could have dinner at Buckingham Palace and lots of privacy.' It remains unclear whether this offer was accepted, but the pair were back in contact merely two days later. Epstein then inquired, 'g [Ghislaine Maxwell] is here with me...what are you doing?' Andrew detailed a lunch with a Saudi Prince and a visit to a secret intelligence firm before extending another invitation: 'Delighted for you to come here to BP [Buckingham Palace]. Come with whomever and I'll be here free from 1600ish.'
Context of the Exchange
This correspondence occurred during one of Epstein's initial trips outside the United States following a 13-month sentence for sex crimes, served mostly under house arrest in his Palm Beach mansion due to a plea deal. The previous month, Epstein had offered to arrange a dinner for Andrew with a 'clever, beautiful and trustworthy' 26-year-old Russian woman, noting: 'She has your email.' Andrew replied, 'delighted to see her,' and cheerfully asked Epstein, 'Good to be free?' just days after his house arrest ended.
Further Revelations and Connections
The document dump, the largest yet related to Epstein, contains thousands of references to Andrew, dragging figures like Lord Mandelson and Bill Gates deeper into the scandal. According to the files, Epstein claimed Bill Gates contracted a sexually transmitted disease from 'Russian girls' and suggested secretly administering antibiotics to his wife, Melinda. Additionally, new emails involve Sarah, the former Duchess of York, and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, including images from Andrew's electronic Christmas cards.
Several emails reference Sarah's well-documented debts, which Epstein helped pay off. In an August 2009 email, she thanked him for being 'the brother I have always wished for,' while in another, she called Epstein 'my dear spectacular and special friend' and 'a legend.' Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's madam and Andrew's long-term friend, is heavily featured. In one exchange from August 2002, Andrew, calling himself 'The Invisible Man,' apologised for declining an offer to visit 'the Island'—believed to be Epstein's private property in the US Virgin Islands—to spend time with his children. Maxwell joked that 'five stunning redheads' would have to 'play with ourselves' as a result.
Allegations and Denials
A 25-year-old masseuse, who worked for Epstein in 1999, stated in a 2021 submission to a private investigations team that she 'didn't feel good' about being asked to massage Andrew, fearing it might involve 'to do more.' She noted seeing both Prince Andrew and Donald Trump during her time with Epstein. Andrew and President Trump have consistently denied any wrongdoing, but Andrew's explanations in his 2019 Newsnight interview appear increasingly questionable given the new emails.
Contrary to his claim of ending the friendship in 2010, an email shows Andrew telling Epstein, 'See you tomorrow afternoon. Really looking forward to seeing you and spending some time with you after so long.' Days before their New York meeting, Andrew wrote of 'some interesting things to discuss and plot.' Later, he sent a 'Happy Christmas' email to 'Dear J,' expressing gratitude for time spent 'with my US family.'
Investigative Developments and Personal Frustrations
On a potentially positive note for Andrew, an internal FBI memo indicated he was 'not a big part of our investigation' regarding Epstein's child sex crimes, despite a prosecutor's 2020 complaint of 'zero cooperation.' Elsewhere in the files, Andrew expressed 'frustration' at being unable to holiday due to the 2003 Iraq War, which claimed 179 British lives. Less than two weeks after troops were deployed, he complained to Maxwell about media scrutiny, writing, 'I am becoming frustrated at this slight caging!'
US deputy attorney-general Todd Blanche, overseeing the release, compared the evidence volume to 'two Eiffel Towers' worth of material, asserting the Department of Justice had not protected Mr Trump despite public 'hunger or a thirst for information.' Epstein was found dead in his New York prison cell in 2019, with his death ruled a suicide by hanging.
