The release of court documents relating to the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has further damaged the Duke of York’s hopes of rehabilitating his reputation. The documents include fresh allegations of groping and underage sex against Prince Andrew.
In a witness statement, Johanna Sjoberg claimed Andrew groped her breast at Epstein’s New York home in 2001, when she was 20. She said a puppet of the prince was placed on Virginia Giuffre’s lap, and Andrew put his hand on her breast for a photo. Buckingham Palace previously called the allegations “categorically untrue”.
Another filing alleges that Giuffre, referred to as Jane Doe #3, was forced to have sexual relations with Andrew when she was a minor in London, New York, and on Epstein’s private island. Giuffre has claimed she was trafficked by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and forced to have sex with Andrew, who has denied all allegations.
The documents also reveal Maxwell’s concerns about her links to Andrew. In a 2015 email, she wrote: “I have never been in a suit criminal or civil and want it to stay that way.” She also asked about her relationship with “Clinton, Andrew on and on”.
Andrew settled a civil case with Giuffre in 2022, stating he “regrets his association with Epstein”. Buckingham Palace declined to comment as he is no longer a working royal. The campaign group Republic has reported Andrew to the police over the allegations.
