Mountbatten-Windsor has for many years faced allegations that he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre, a teenager at the time, after she was trafficked by Epstein. He denies the accusations.
Andrew with Virginia Giuffre (centre) in 2001 and Jeffrey Epstein’s then personal assistant, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The scandal threatens to further engulf him after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggested that he should testify to the US Congress over his links to Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor had failed to respond to requests to a summons from the Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee, which were made ahead of the publication of the Epstein files.
Until that point, Starmer had largely avoided commenting on Mountbatten-Windsor’s involvement with Epstein, in line with government protocol of not criticising the royal family.
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But that changed after the Palace’s announcement on October 30 that Andrew would be stripped of his titles of prince and Duke of York, as well as his other titles as the Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh and HRH.
Mountbatten-Windsor reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre, with no admission of guilt, in 2022. Giuffre, who took her own life in April, accused him of sexual abuse and rape.
Britain’s Metropolitan Police are “actively looking into” allegations that Mountbatten-Windsor asked his police protection officer – who is taxpayer-funded – to investigate Giuffre after obtaining her date of birth and social security number.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s association with Epstein – which included visits to the financier’s private island, Little St James – have plagued the former prince for over five years, having stood down from all royal duties in 2019 after his disastrous Newsnight interview.
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He faces the prospect of having more details of his relationship with Epstein made public in the coming days.
US President Donald Trump signed a bill last month ordering the release of the Epstein files, after previously resisting pressure to publish the emails, which could include evidence of his own association with Epstein.
Trump changed his mind after congressional members of his own party began to join calls to release the files.
