What happened when Andrew invited Epstein to Sandringham

After all, Sandringham represented everything the Queen valued.

It was her Christmas refuge, and the private estate where her grandfather, George V, had delivered his first wireless broadcast in 1932. It was where the family assembled after Christmas lunch; where protocol mattered absolutely.

This was the royal property where she would observe her accession anniversary annually, returning quietly to where her cherished father George VI passed away in 1952.

Yet, when granted access, Andrew abused the privilege.

It has all come to light, as a photograph has now emerged from the so-called “Epstein files” – documents, published by the US Department of Justice, which represent the largest release of information so far on Jeffrey Epstein, a paedophile later convicted of sex trafficking, and his high-profile associates. The photo shows the former prince Andrew (now stripped of his royal titles) in black tie, reclining across multiple women’s laps. His eyes are shut, yet he is beaming in the saloon room at Sandringham.

Maxwell towers above, gazing downward, grinning.

The women’s identities remain obscured. Yet convicted sex trafficker Maxwell persists. Currently serving 20 years in prison in the United States, she remains identifiable.

Andrew, given the run of the place for a weekend, repurposed it for organised debauchery.

“He was your guest, as well, in 2000,” Maitlis pursued in her Newsnight interview. “Epstein was a guest at Windsor Castle and at Sandringham. He was brought right into the heart of the royal family at your invitation.”

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Andrew, odious and pompous, attempted redirection. “Certainly, at my invitation, not at the royal family’s invitation. But remember that it was his girlfriend that was the key element in this. He was the, as it were, plus-one, to some extent.”

Andrew tried to blindside her with spurious palace protocol. A plus-one. More nonsense, as documentation from the Dance of the Decades – an event held at Windsor Castle to celebrate several landmark birthdays in the royal family that June – revealed otherwise. Maxwell and Epstein received separate invitations, as only married or engaged couples are guests in their own right to royal properties. Yet the unmarried couple was given access to the inner sanctum by Andrew.

This was anything but a straightforward shooting party.

Under normal circumstances, when Charles organised shoots at Sandringham, participants were often affluent, titled landowners such as the late Gerald Grosvenor, sixth Duke of Westminster; Nicholas Soames, a member of the House of Lords, and Sir Nicholas Bacon, former politician and philanthropist, were also regulars with their wives. But for them, the only “extras” put out in their bathrooms were special soaps and bath oils from Highgrove.

Drawing-room drinks would feature staples such as sloe gin, whisky and sherry. Etiquette and continuity were observed.

Another regular was Tino, the late and exiled King Constantine of Greece. He unnerved the other guns, by dangerously swinging through the line – moving past the target before firing – a cardinal sin on a shoot. He wouldn’t stand and bow when first meeting the then Prince Charles, unlike the other guests because he was a king and outranked him, technically.

But on Andrew’s December 2000 shoot, it was very different. The guests mirrored Andrew’s louche circle. The gift baskets indicated the gathering’s nature beyond dispute.

Andrew possessed access rights to Sandringham as Duke of York. Rights differ from ownership. The Queen held the title.

Yet the financial aspect bears examination. Who approved the bathroom baskets? It is still unknown, but somebody signed it off. Sex toys and poppers weren’t, clearly, routine provisions.

Epstein had bankrolled Andrew before, funding yacht trips to Thailand where they were photographed with topless women.

Andrew conducted himself as though Sandringham was his private domain, and sources saying he was more bumptious than ever.

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He defiled a cherished dwelling. Exploited privilege for excess.

Household staff there were appalled. Sandringham embodied their principles. Andrew damaged its standing. The gift baskets in the bathrooms were bad enough.

Robert Jobson is an author, broadcaster and former royal correspondent with three decades on the front line of reporting on the royal family.

The Telegraph, London

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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