Newly released photographs from the US Department of Justice’s ‘Epstein files’ suggest the Duke of York served as a pass for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell to enter the highest echelons of British society.
The images show the former prince, now styled Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, with Epstein and Maxwell at exclusive royal locations including Sandringham, Balmoral and the Royal Ascot. In one snapshot, he lies across the laps of five women, their faces redacted, at Sandringham reportedly for Maxwell’s 39th birthday in December 2000.
Another photo captures Epstein and Maxwell peering from the royal box at Ascot on Ladies’ Day in June 2000, where Mountbatten-Windsor had invited them as personal guests. The event was attended by both the Queen and the Queen Mother. The couple also stayed at the Balmoral estate in 1999, with a picture showing them dressed appropriately on the moorland.
Royal biographer Tina Brown wrote in her 2022 book that Epstein considered the duke an ‘idiot’ but a ‘useful’ one, exploiting his sense of grievance to negotiate deals. Biographer Andrew Lownie described him as ‘easy prey for a rattlesnake like Epstein’, adding that Epstein ‘played Andrew’ as a ‘useful idiot’.
Mountbatten-Windsor, who has denied allegations of sexual misconduct, faces eviction from Royal Lodge and will move to a private house on the Sandringham estate next year. He has not responded to a request from US Congress Democrats to testify about Epstein’s activities.
