The relationship of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew, Duke of York) with the American financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has remained a source of sustained controversy with significant ramifications for the British royal family. According to Andrew, the pair were introduced in 1999 by Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell (who was convicted of child sex crimes in 2021), and socialised in high-profile circles, with Epstein attending events at Windsor Castle and Sandringham House. Maxwell disputes this claim, claiming Sarah Ferguson introduced him to Epstein. Their association came under heightened scrutiny following Epstein's conviction in 2008 for procuring a minor for prostitution. Andrew nevertheless visited him in New York in 2010 after his release from prison.
The controversy intensified with serious allegations from Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she had been trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell and forced to have sexual relations with Andrew on three occasions in the early 2000s, beginning when she was 17. Andrew has consistently and categorically denied the allegations, stating in an interview in 2019 with Newsnight on the BBC that he had no recollection of ever meeting Giuffre. The interview was widely criticised and regarded as damaging to his credibility. The ensuing public backlash and mounting pressure led to Andrew stepping back from public royal duties in November 2019, and in January 2022 his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, removed his military affiliations and his use of the style "His Royal Highness". A civil lawsuit filed by Giuffre in the United States was settled out of court in February 2022 for an undisclosed sum, with Andrew making a payment to Giuffre without any admission of liability. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025.
In October 2025, amid renewed scrutiny of his association with Epstein following the release of Giuffre's posthumous memoir Nobody's Girl, a formal process to remove Andrew's remaining styles, titles and honours was initiated by his brother King Charles III. Emails released in February 2026 as part of the Epstein files also appear to show that, between 2010 and 2011, Andrew may have shared confidential information with Epstein relating to his official work as trade envoy. Later that month, he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and released under investigation.
Background
Andrew was a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Harvey Weinstein (the latter of whom would later also be exposed for sexual misconduct in 2017) had been hosted by Andrew at his residence, Royal Lodge, ahead of a masked ball at Windsor Castle for Princess Beatrice's 18th birthday celebrations in 2006. This was two months after a US arrest warrant had been issued for Epstein for the sexual assault of a minor. Epstein was arrested by police in Florida eight days after the event, though Andrew denied having any knowledge of the arrest warrant issued in the United States. BBC News reported in March 2011 that the friendship was producing "a steady stream of criticism", and there were calls for him to step down from his role as trade envoy. Andrew was also criticised in the media after his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, disclosed that he had helped arrange for Epstein to pay off £15,000 of her debts. Andrew had been photographed in December 2010 walking with Epstein in Central Park during a visit to New York City. In July 2011, Andrew's role as trade envoy was terminated because of escalating controversy over his associations, especially with Epstein.
On 30 December 2014 a court filing in Florida, United States, by the lawyers Bradley J. Edwards and Paul G. Cassell alleged that Andrew was one of several prominent figures, including the lawyer Alan Dershowitz and "a former prime minister", to have participated in sexual activities with a minor later identified as Virginia Giuffre (then known by her maiden name, Virginia Roberts), who was allegedly trafficked by Epstein. An affidavit from Giuffre was included in an earlier lawsuit from 2008 accusing the US Justice Department of violating the Crime Victims' Rights Act during Epstein's first criminal case by not allowing several of his victims to challenge his plea deal; Andrew was otherwise not a party to the lawsuit.
In January 2015 there was renewed media and public pressure for Buckingham Palace to explain Andrew's connection with Epstein. Buckingham Palace stated that "any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue", and later repeated the denial. Requests from Giuffre's lawyers for a statement from Andrew about the allegations, under oath, were returned unanswered.
2010 visit to New York and subsequent contacts According to emails released by the US Department for Justice, Andrew's trip to New York had been planned months in advance, beginning in April 2010 while Epstein was still under house arrest. After the dates for Andrew's travel had been fixed for 29 November–7 December, Epstein contacted his publicist asking "young fun people for andrew the week of the 29th?" He also emailed his associates Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem and Tom Pritzker in an effort to secure business meetings using Andrew's presence as bait. He also booked Andrew in for a skin treatment at a New York spa club and allocated him a car and driver for the week. At the time, the pair were in negotiations to launch their own business together in China, which was to be known as The Witan Group. Email exchanges from May and July 2010 showed Epstein and Andrew heavily discussing business deals. Further emails released showed that during the trip to New York to meet with Epstein, Andrew was a guest at a gathering of celebrities at Epstein's multi-million Manhattan townhouse on 2 December, with fellow guests including Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi Previn, TV presenters Katie Couric and George Stephanopoulos, comedian Chelsea Handler and talk show host Charlie Rose. Andrew and Epstein were photographed together on 5 December while taking a walk in Central Park and, despite Andrew's claim in the Newsnight interview that he "never had any contact with him from that day forward", on 6 December Epstein invited a woman over for lunch with Andrew. After Andrew's departure, a female dance student messaged Epstein to state that she had recently "massaged [redacted] and andrew". At the end of August 2019, The New Republic published a September 2013 email exchange between John Brockman and Evgeny Morozov, in which Brockman mentioned seeing a British man nicknamed "Andy" receive a foot massage from two Russian women at Epstein's New York residence during his last visit to the mansion in 2010, and had realised "that the recipient of Irina's foot massage was His Royal Highness, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York".
Further documents showed Andrew had been in contact with Epstein via email on Christmas Day in 2010 to send a "homemade family message". Andrew wrote to Epstein again in February 2011 as he was about to go into his "annual retreat" to thank him for sorting out a problem for his ex-wife over unpaid wages. The Mail on Sunday and The Sun on Sunday published an email from Andrew to Epstein, sent in February 2011 shortly after the photograph of Andrew with Giuffre was made public. In it, Andrew wrote: "We are in this together and will have to rise above it. Otherwise keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon!!!!" The United States House Oversight Committee released further emails that showed Andrew had contacted both Epstein and Maxwell in March 2011, telling the latter "I can't take any more of this" following the allegations published in The Mail on Sunday. In another email, Andrew stated "Please make sure that every statement or legal letter states clearly that I am NOT involved and that I knew and know NOTHING about any of these allegations." Epstein also emailed a journalist to investigate "Andrew's accuser" and stated in a separate email discussing Giuffre "Yes she was on my plane, and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew, as many of my employees have." In February 2026, it emerged that Epstein had been in contact with Andrew's aide, David Stern, from at least 2009 to 2017. In October 2013, Epstein emailed Stern to say: "I have a very beautiful friend comoing [sic] to london on tues. ANdrew [sic] might want to have her for a dinner." In April 2017, Stern emailed Epstein regarding a "super" dinner at Windsor Castle for May that year, asking "who else" he ought to invite.
Allegations and related developments Giuffre said that she had sex with Andrew on three occasions, including a trip to London in 2001 when she was 17, and later in New York and on Little Saint James in the US Virgin Islands during an orgy. She alleged that Epstein paid her $15,000 after she had sex with Andrew in London. Flight logs show that Andrew and Giuffre were in the places she alleged their meetings took place. Andrew and Giuffre were also photographed together with his arm around her waist, with Epstein's associate Maxwell, in the background, though Andrew's supporters have repeatedly said that the photo is fake and edited. Giuffre stated that she had been pressured to have sex with Andrew and "wouldn't have dared object" as Epstein, through contacts, could have her "killed or abducted". An email sent by "G Maxwell" to Epstein in 2015, released as part of the Epstein files, appears to confirm that a photograph had been taken, reading: "In 2001 I was in London when [redacted] met a number of friends of mine including Prince Andrew. A photograph was taken as I imagine she wanted to show it to friends and family."
In January 2015, in an email exchange with the New York Times reporter Landon Thomas Jr, Epstein said his reputation had "taken a hit" after Giuffre claimed in Florida court filings that she was trafficked for sex with Andrew. Thomas Jr advised Epstein to "separate himself from Andrew" and added "I mean in the end he had consensual sex with VR [Virginia Roberts]. And VR worked for you. The rest is atmospherics. You have moved on!". On 7 April 2015, Judge Kenneth Marra ruled that the "sex allegations made against Andrew in court papers filed in Florida must be struck from the public record". Marra made no ruling as to whether Giuffre's claims were true or false, specifically stating that she may later give evidence when the case came to court. Juan "John" Alessi, who was Epstein's butler, stated in a deposition he gave for Giuffre's 2016 defamation case against Maxwell that Andrew's hitherto unremarked visits to Epstein's house in Palm Beach were more frequent than previously thought. He maintained that Andrew "spent weeks with us" and received "daily massages".
In August 2019, court documents associated with a defamation case between Giuffre and Maxwell revealed that a second girl, Johanna Sjoberg, had given evidence alleging that Andrew had placed his hand on her breast while in Epstein's mansion posing for a photo with his Spitting Image puppet. Later that month, Andrew released a statement saying: "At no stage during the limited time I spent with [Epstein] did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction", though he expressed regret for meeting him in 2010 after Epstein had already pleaded guilty to sex crimes for the first time.