Emails say Prince Andrew met pedophile Jeffrey Epstein while the financier was still under house arrest – contradicting what the royal family have told Newsnight
- According to court reports, the couple met more than once in 2010
Prince Andrew is facing new questions about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after emails emerged saying he met the pedophile while he was under house arrest despite his promises to BBC Newsnight.
Court documents have allegedly revealed that the Duke met the late billionaire pedophile while he was under house arrest at his Florida home for a sex offense.
Speaking to the BBC’s Emily Maitlis in 2019, Andrew, 63, said he had cut ties with Epstein, having only visited him once after his release from prison in New York in December 2010.
Asked, “Have you seen or spoken to him again?” The Duke said, “No.”
But in a June 14 email of that same year, Epstein told then-JP Morgan CEO Jes Staley that he had lunch with the royals and they had stayed in touch, adding, “Andrew just sat next to me at dinner.”
Andrew said he cut ties with Jeffrey Epstein after visiting him in New York in December 2010. However, an email suggests they met in June of that year
Speaking to the BBC’s Emily Maitlis in 2019, Andrew, 63, said he cut ties with Epstein after visiting him in 2010
The court filings read: “On April 15, 2010, Epstein wrote to Prince Andrew, the Duke of York [redacted word] “Jes Staley will be in London on Thursday 22nd. I think you should meet up when you’re in town.”
“Prince Andrew replied that he could not be reached but would try to visit New York in the near future,” according to The Mirror.
Last month, a message from the billionaire pedophile, released as part of a court case in the US, showed that he presented Andrew as a potential investor in 2011, although the royal family claimed to have cut all ties in 2010.
Epstein’s victims then urged the prince to speak to the FBI, which he has so far declined to do. It is not known if Andrew was aware that Epstein had mentioned him in the email exchange.
Victims’ representative, US Attorney Spencer Kuvin, told the Mirror: “It appears that either Epstein grossly overstated his relationship with Prince Andrew, or that the Duke may not have been entirely honest about when his friendship ended.”
One victim who was awarded compensation under the Epstein Victim Compensation Program said, “The emails raise serious questions.” Why would Jeffrey praise him as an investor when he was no longer in touch?
In an August 31, 2011 email from Epstein to JP Morgan, Andrew was suggested as a possible investment partner because “he’s now allowed to make money.”
This was uncovered amid a US Virgin Islands lawsuit against the bank alleging that it was “involved in the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein.”
In a countersuit, JP Morgan accused territory officials of accepting money and favors from Epstein in exchange for turning a blind eye to the island’s abuse of women.
Andrew pictured waving goodbye to a friend at Jeffrey Epstein’s New York home in 2010
Epstein served nearly 13 months in prison in 2008 after being convicted of procuring a child into prostitution and sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl
Epstein served nearly 13 months in prison in 2008 after being convicted of procuring a child into prostitution and sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.
But Prince Andrew continued his friendship with the perpetrator even after his release.
In 2019, he told the BBC that his relationship with Epstein and the opportunities he was given were “very useful” and said he didn’t recall the photo, showing him with his arm around Virginia Roberts – now known as Virginia Giuffre – “being ever taken”.
Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in prison in 2019.
Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell – who was also a friend of Andrew and can be seen in the background of the photo of him and wife Giuffre – is serving 20 years in prison for sex trafficking.
Prince Andrew was contacted by Web for comment.