Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s downfall as a working royal is certainly intertwined along with his connection to the late disgraced financier and convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Whereas Mountbatten-Windsor has all the time denied any wrongdoing, he was accused by Epstein sufferer Virginia Giuffre (née Roberts) of sexually assaulting her 3 times when she was 17 years outdated. The 2 apparently met by Epstein and his companion Ghislaine Maxwell, the latter of whom was convicted of intercourse trafficking of a minor following Epstein’s demise by suicide in 2019. (Maxwell maintains her innocence.)
Mountbatten-Windsor initially stepped again from his royal duties because the Epstein scandal exploded in 2019, however it wasn’t till the allegations resurfaced in October 2025 that he formally gave up his royal title.
“(I’ll) now not use my title or the honors which have been conferred upon me,” he instructed Us Weekly in a press release. “As I’ve mentioned beforehand, I vigorously deny the accusations in opposition to me.”
Between Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s 4 youngsters, Prince Andrew has maybe skilled essentially the most excessive highs and lows. Andrew is the topic of Andrew Lownie’s 2025 e book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the Home of York, which the BBC described as “an unrelentingly unflattering portrait” of the royal and “depicts him as (…)
Three months later, Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public workplace.
Maintain scrolling for a full timeline of Mountbatten-Windsor’s connection to Epstein.
Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein’s Introduction
Mountbatten-Windsor instructed Newsnight journalist Emily Maitlis in a bombshell 2019 interview that he was launched to Epstein in 1999, which differs from notes taken by the prince’s non-public secretary in 2011, which specified that Mountbatten-Windsor and the financier met in “the early Nineteen Nineties.”
The 2 males have been reportedly launched by Maxwell, Mountbatten-Windsor’s longtime buddy and Epstein’s companion.
Jeffrey Epstein Visited Prince Andrew at Windsor Fortress
Mountbatten-Windsor confirmed to Newsnight that Epstein visited him at Windsor Fortress and Sandringham in 2000, although he specified that the financier wasn’t given a proper invitation from the royal household.
“(It was) actually at my invitation, not on the Royal Household’s invitation however do not forget that it was his girlfriend (Maxwell) that was the important thing factor on this,” Mountbatten-Windsor insisted. “He was, because it have been, plus one, to some extent in that side.”
That very same 12 months, Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein have been each noticed at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Seaside, Florida.
Epstein’s Conviction
In 2008, Epstein pleaded responsible to fees of kid prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. As a part of a plea deal, he served solely 13 months behind bars.
Mountbatten-Windsor instructed Newsnight that he’d “ceased contact” with Epstein all through the investigation and trial, however received again in contact in 2010.
“It was a type of issues that any individual’s going by that type of factor, ‘Effectively I’m terribly sorry I can’t be (seen with) you,’” he defined.
Prince Andrew’s New York Go to
Mountbatten-Windsor made a really controversial resolution to go to Epstein at his New York Metropolis mansion in 2010, following the convicted intercourse offender’s launch from the Palm Seaside County Jail. On Newsnight, the royal was requested why he’d agreed to remain at Epstein’s house in mild of his conviction.
“I’ve questioned myself as to why did I’m going and what was I doing and was it the fitting factor to do?” he mentioned. “Now, I went there with the only real goal of claiming to him that as a result of he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen collectively.”
The 2 have been seen collectively days later when the paparazzi photographed them on a stroll in Central Park.
“We had a possibility to go for a stroll within the park and that was the dialog coincidentally that was photographed which was after I mentioned to him, I mentioned, ‘Look, due to what has occurred, I don’t assume it’s acceptable that we must always stay in touch,’ and by mutual settlement throughout that stroll within the park we determined that we’d half firm and I left,” Mountbatten-Windsor instructed Newsnight. “I believe it was the subsequent day and to at the present time I by no means had any contact with him from that day ahead.”
Andrew Resigns From Key Position
The repercussions over Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein’s Central Park {photograph} have been swift, as Buckingham Palace introduced in 2011 that he would resign as a U.Ok. commerce envoy.
Sexual Assault Allegation Towards Andrew
As a part of a sufferer’s rights lawsuit in opposition to Epstein and Maxwell, Giuffre alleged that she was sexually abused by Mountbatten-Windsor when she was 17 years outdated in 2001. Following an evening out at London’s Tramp nightclub with Epstein, Maxwell and Mountbatten-Windsor, Giuffre alleged that she was paid $15,000 by Maxwell and instructed to “do for (Mountbatten-Windsor) what you do for Epstein” at Maxwell’s condo.
“I’ve no recollection of ever assembly her. I’m, virtually, the truth is I’m satisfied that I used to be by no means in Tramps along with her,” Mountbatten-Windsor instructed Newsnight in 2019. “There are a selection of issues which are incorrect with that story, one in all which is that I don’t know the place the bar is in Tramps. I don’t drink. I don’t assume I’ve ever purchased a drink in Tramps each time I used to be there.”
In one other fiery change from his Newsnight interview, Maitlis introduced up Giuffre’s reminiscence of Mountbatten-Windsor “profusely sweating” as they danced collectively at Tramps.
“There’s a slight drawback with the sweating as a result of I’ve a peculiar medical situation which is that I don’t sweat or I didn’t sweat on the time and that was … was it … sure, I didn’t sweat on the time as a result of I had suffered what I might describe as an overdose of adrenalin within the Falkland’s Warfare after I was shot at and I merely … it was virtually unattainable for me to sweat,” he replied.
{A photograph} of Mountbatten-Windsor and Giuffre exists although he denied the “{photograph} was taken” by Epstein with a purpose to compel him to contribute to a rehabilitation of the financier’s picture.
“If that {photograph} was taken with that goal in thoughts, then it doesn’t … equate to what truly occurred,” he insisted.
Giuffre gained a defamation lawsuit in opposition to Maxwell in 2017 and settled a separate swimsuit with Epstein in 2009.
Epstein’s 2nd Arrest
The financier was taken into custody on federal fees of intercourse trafficking minors on July 6, 2019. Federal officers apprehended Epstein at Teterboro airport in New Jersey as he returned from a flight to Paris.
Episode Discovered Useless
Epstein was discovered lifeless of a suspected suicide in his jail cell at New York Metropolis’s Metropolitan Correctional Middle on August 10, 2019.
Newsnight Interview
Mountbatten-Windsor sat down for a 58-minute TV interview with BBC Newsnight journalist Emily Maitlis, the place he hesitated when requested if he regretted his friendship with Epstein.
“Nonetheless not and the reason is is that the people who I met and the alternatives that I used to be given to be taught both by him or due to him have been truly very helpful,” Mountbatten-Windsor answered. “He himself not, because it have been, as shut as you may assume, we weren’t that shut. So due to this fact, I imply sure, I might go and keep in his home however that was due to his girlfriend, not due to him.”
Responding to Giuffre’s accusations, Mountbatten-Windsor mentioned he had “no recollection of ever assembly” her and denied any wrongdoing.
Stepping Again
In mild of his disastrous Newsnight look, Mountbatten-Windsor introduced in November 2019 that he was stepping again from royal duties.
“It has change into clear to me over the previous couple of days that the circumstance referring to my former affiliation with Jeffrey Epstein has change into a serious disruption to my household’s work and the precious work happening within the many organizations and charities that I’m proud to assist,” he mentioned. “Due to this fact, I’ve requested Her Majesty if I’ll step again from public duties for the foreseeable future, and he or she has given her permission.”
Lawsuit and Personal Settlement
Giuffre accused Mountbatten-Windsor of sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional misery in a lawsuit filed in 2021. Attorneys for the royal confirmed in February 2022 that he’d settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum. Mountbatten-Windsor continued to keep up his innocence.
“Prince Andrew intends to make a considerable donation to Ms. Giuffre’s charity in assist of victims’ rights,” a letter from his attorneys learn. “Prince Andrew has by no means supposed to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered each as a longtime sufferer of abuse and because of unfair public assaults.”
Giuffre died by suicide at age 41 in April 2025.
New E book on Prince Andrew Exposes Alleged Emails
Andrew Lownie’s tell-all 2025 e book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the Home of York set off a firestorm of latest allegations in regards to the prince’s connection to Epstein. A number of U.Ok. shops revealed alleged e-mail correspondence between Mountbatten-Windsor, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and Epstein.
One alleged e-mail despatched in 2011 noticed Mountbatten-Windsor writing to Epstein that they have been “on this collectively and should rise above it.” One other e-mail allegedly despatched after Ferguson publicly distanced herself from Epstein in 2011 noticed her tackle the convicted intercourse offender as “a steadfast, beneficiant and supreme buddy to me and my household.”
In response to the resurfaced messages, Ferguson’s spokesperson instructed BBC Information: “The duchess spoke of her remorse about her affiliation with Epstein a few years in the past, and as they’ve all the time been, her first ideas are along with his victims. Like many individuals, she was taken in by his lies. As quickly as she was conscious of the extent of the allegations in opposition to him, she not solely minimize off contact however condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with paedophilia.”
Prince Andrew Formally Resigns From Royal Duties, Offers Up His Title
With stress as soon as once more mounting over the Epstein scandal, Mountbatten-Windsor introduced in October 2025 that he would quit his royal title.
Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Giuffre, died in April 2025, along with her household confirming her demise was attributable to suicide. Giuffre, who was simply 41 on the time of her demise in Neergabby, Australia, had been on the heart of accusations in opposition to Prince Andrew and the late Epstein involving sexual abuse and intercourse (…)
“In dialogue with The King, and my rapid and wider household, we’ve concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Household,” Mountbatten-Windsor mentioned in a press release to Us on October 17, 2025. “I’ve determined, as I all the time have, to place my responsibility to my household and nation first. I stand by my resolution 5 years in the past to face again from public life.”
He concluded, “With His Majesty’s settlement, we really feel I have to now go a step additional. I’ll due to this fact now not use my title or the honors which have been conferred upon me. As I’ve mentioned beforehand, I vigorously deny the accusations in opposition to me.”
Buckingham Palace Begins Course of to Strip Prince Andrew of His Royal Titles
A palace spokesperson introduced on October 30, 2025, that King Charles III had initiated the method to strip his brother of his royal titles. In consequence, his sibling would “now be often known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor,” the palace confirmed.
Mountbatten-Windsor might be required to maneuver out of his residence at Royal Lodge, which he acquired as a part of a peppercorn lease settlement in 2003.
“(Mountbatten-Windsor’s) lease on Royal Lodge has, up to now, supplied him with authorized safety to proceed in residence,” Buckingham Palace instructed Us in a press release. “Formal discover has now been served to give up the lease and he’ll transfer to different non-public lodging. These censures are deemed crucial, however the truth that he continues to disclaim the allegations in opposition to him.”
Prince Andrew Seen in Newly Launched Photographs from Jeffrey Epstein’s Property
On December 12, 2025, Democrats from the Home Oversight Committee launched 19 photographs of greater than 95,000 recovered from Epstein’s property. President Trump, former President Invoice Clinton, director Woody Allen and former Microsoft chairman Invoice Gates have been all featured within the photographs however all have denied any data of Epstein’s wrongdoing.
The photographs have been obtained as a part of the Home Oversight Committee’s settlement with the Epstein property to assessment photographs and movies “taken at any property owned, rented, operated, or utilized by Epstein from January 1, 1990 by August 10, 2019.”
Invoice Gates and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in photograph obtained from Epstein property. Courtesy of Oversight Dems/X
Mountbatten-Windsor is proven alongside Gates in one of many newly launched photographs. The tech magnate instructed the Wall Avenue Journal in January 2025 that it was “silly” to spend time with Epstein.
“He type of received time with numerous individuals by spending time with different individuals,” Gates mentioned. “So, sure, I believe I used to be fairly silly. I assumed it could assist me with world well being philanthropy. In reality, it failed to do this. It was simply an enormous mistake.”
Us reached out to Buckingham Palace for remark.
Prince Andrew Received’t Face Police Motion Over Bodyguard Allegation
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police instructed BBC Information on December 13, 2025, that police would take “no additional motion” in opposition to Mountbatten-Windsor over accusations that he requested his taxpayer funded police safety officer for info on Giuffre.
The Mail on Sunday reported in October that Mountbatten-Windsor gave Giuffre’s date of beginning and social safety quantity to a safety officer. Mountbatten-Windsor has not commented on the allegations.
“The Met stays dedicated to totally assessing any new info that might help on this matter,” they mentioned. “To this point, we’ve not obtained any extra proof that may assist reopening the investigation. Within the absence of any additional info, we might be taking no additional motion.”
The police assertion continued, “As with every different matter, ought to new and related info be dropped at our consideration, together with in any info ensuing from the discharge of fabric within the U.S., we are going to assess it.”
Giuffre’s household mentioned in a press release that they have been “deeply upset” that U.Ok. police dropped the probe “with out rationalization and with out chatting with us.”
Us reached out to Buckingham Palace for remark.
Andrew’s Arrest in Connection With Epstein
Us confirmed in February 2026 that Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested within the U.Ok. on suspicion of misconduct in a public workplace. Earlier that month, police confirmed they have been investigating whether or not the previous prince shared confidential info with Epstein whereas serving because the U.Ok.’s commerce envoy.
King Charles launched a press release after his brother’s arrest, which learn, “I’ve realized with the deepest concern the information about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public workplace. What now follows is the complete, truthful and correct course of by which this concern is investigated within the acceptable method and by the suitable authorities. On this, as I’ve mentioned earlier than, they’ve our full and wholehearted assist and co-operation.”
He concluded: “Let me state clearly: the legislation should take its course. As this course of continues, it could not be proper for me to remark additional on this matter. In the meantime, my household and I’ll proceed in our responsibility and repair to you all.”