Epstein Emails Reveal Buckingham Palace Dinner with Andrew and Young Romanian Model
Explosive emails have disclosed that convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein took a young Romanian model to a private dinner at Buckingham Palace with Prince Andrew, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The bombshell correspondence shows how Andrew entertained Epstein and four women, including the model from Bucharest and another from Russia, at the Palace while Queen Elizabeth was away at Balmoral.
Details of the Palace Gathering
In the emails, Epstein described the Romanian woman, who was in her early twenties, as 'very cute' and told her she had been 'perfect'. He claimed Andrew thought she was 'beautiful', adding: 'No man looks at your clothes, they see through them.' In an apparent reference to events of the evening, the sex offender wrote to Andrew: 'Great fun, more later', to which the then Prince gushingly replied: 'Yes please!'
It remains unclear whether the young Romanian woman was one of Epstein's many sex abuse victims, but this latest revelation from the Epstein Files has fuelled calls for the Metropolitan Police to launch a criminal investigation into Andrew. It also raises new questions about what courtiers knew of his interactions with Epstein and his network of young women at royal residences.
Royal Author Calls for Investigation
Royal author Andrew Lownie stated: 'We have lots of stories now of women being taken to Andrew and I think there are strong grounds for the Met to reopen their case. The Palace does have visitor logs and it needs to launch its own investigation into security at Royal palaces and whether the law was broken. It should be passing this information to law enforcement.'
Background and Further Revelations
Files released by the US Department of Justice last weekend suggested Andrew arranged an intimate dinner with Epstein and three women – named only as Sarah, Sue and Vera – at Buckingham Palace in September 2010. One of the three was a Russian model. Andrew promised 'lots of privacy' to the convicted sex offender, just over a year after he was released from an 18-month jail term for soliciting a minor.
Now, The Mail on Sunday has unearthed further files revealing that a fourth woman was added to the guest list on the night of the dinner. Writing to Andrew at 6.41pm on September 27, 2010, Epstein told the then Duke to 'add one more', describing the guest as: 'Romanian, very cute.' Andrew replied 'no problem'.
The woman met Epstein at socialite Ghislaine Maxwell's mews house in Belgravia before being driven to Buckingham Palace. Maxwell's former home is where Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre alleged she had sex with Andrew in 2001 – claims he has always strenuously denied.
Aftermath and Grooming Allegations
It is unclear from the documents what happened that night, but the following morning Epstein, then 57, emailed Andrew saying: 'Great fun.' Meanwhile, the woman thanked Epstein, calling it a 'once-in-a-lifetime experience'. He responded by reminding her she almost declined the invitation as she did not like the jeans she was wearing, before adding: 'You were perfect and Andrew thought beautiful. No man looks at your clothes, they see through them.'
The woman, whom The Mail on Sunday is not naming, did not respond this weekend when asked whether she was a victim of Epstein. Buckingham Palace declined to comment, and Andrew did not respond.
The Mail on Sunday has discovered that the Romanian woman who met Andrew in 2010 came into Epstein's orbit when she was a student in Bucharest in 2008 – the same year the financier was jailed for procuring a minor for prostitution. Emails show she visited Epstein in Florida and Paris, and that the paedophile appears to have paid her rent and dental bills.
In May 2010, shortly after she moved to the UK, Epstein helped her land a job via multimillionaire British businessman Lyndon Lea. Epstein told Mr Lea she was a 'good friend, former high fashion model from Romania, business school degree, anxious to start a real job... I'm sure she will excel'. Mr Lea, who helps lead an anti-trafficking charity, later told Epstein he had arranged a paid internship in London. He did not reply to a request to comment last night.
Pattern of Control and Wider Fallout
Epstein often lavished gifts and career assistance on young women to groom them before becoming controlling. In one message to the Romanian woman, he demanded she write to him immediately about how much she was missing him. And in October 2010, after her trip to the Palace, he lambasted her for seemingly ignoring his advice. 'I have been there for you for over two years,' he said. 'You have followed [your] own path, in contrast to my strong suggestions. Like our night at the Palace, it was easy, you were perfect and no one cared about your clothes. I will help you AFTER and only AFTER you start helping yourself.'
The revelation comes after Thames Valley Police said they will review an allegation Epstein sent a woman to the UK to have sex with Andrew at Royal Lodge, his former 30-room home in Windsor. It is the first time an Epstein victim has claimed a sexual encounter took place in a royal residence.
Political and Legal Ramifications
The fallout from the Epstein Files continued to engulf both Andrew and the Government yesterday, with former minister and ambassador Peter Mandelson's links to the paedophile coming under intense scrutiny. In another day of high drama:
- Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Mandelson's emails apparently leaking confidential government plans to Epstein could constitute a 'crime' and was 'a betrayal of everything we stand for as a country'.
- Labour MPs said Sir Keir Starmer should step aside in favour of a caretaker Prime Minister until a leadership contest in the summer.
- Sir Keir's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney – who some blame for 'forcing' the Prime Minister to appoint Mandelson as ambassador – is on the brink of quitting, while Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald could also resign.
- A top corporate financial crime lawyer visited Mandelson's £12 million London home as detectives finished their searches of his two properties.
- This newspaper can reveal claims that MI6 was told Mandelson could be a risk to UK security because of his connections to Russian intelligence.
- It was disclosed that Mandelson secretly tried to help Epstein shut down an MoS probe into the paedophile's friendship with Andrew.
On Friday, Met Police detectives probing allegations of misconduct in public office raided Peter Mandelson's two homes. Financial crime lawyer Adrian Darbishire KC paid a 90-minute visit to the peer's London home yesterday. Ghislaine Maxwell, jailed for aiding Epstein's crimes, is set to testify before Congress tomorrow via video, but is expected to stay silent for fear of incriminating herself.