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The decline of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s role as a working member of the royal family is deeply linked to his association with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who was disgraced and convicted as a sex offender.
Although Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any misconduct, he faced accusations from Virginia Giuffre, a victim of Epstein. Giuffre claimed that Mountbatten-Windsor sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17, after they were introduced by Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell, who was later convicted of sex trafficking minors after Epstein’s 2019 suicide, maintains her innocence.
Mountbatten-Windsor initially distanced himself from royal duties when the Epstein scandal erupted in 2019. However, it wasn’t until October 2025, when allegations resurfaced, that he officially relinquished his royal title.
“I will no longer use my title or the honors which have been conferred upon me,” he declared in a statement to Us Weekly. “As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
Among the four children of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Prince Andrew’s life has been marked by some of the most dramatic highs and lows. He is the focus of Andrew Lownie’s 2025 book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, which the BBC described as an “unrelentingly unflattering portrait” of the royal, painting him as…
Keep scrolling for a full timeline of Mountbatten-Windsor’s connection to Epstein.
Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein’s Introduction
Mountbatten-Windsor told Newsnight journalist Emily Maitlis in a bombshell 2019 interview that he was introduced to Epstein in 1999, which differs from notes taken by the prince’s private secretary in 2011, which specified that Mountbatten-Windsor and the financier met in “the early 1990s.”
The two men were reportedly introduced by Maxwell, Mountbatten-Windsor’s longtime friend and Epstein’s companion.
Jeffrey Epstein Visited Prince Andrew at Windsor Castle
Mountbatten-Windsor confirmed to Newsnight that Epstein visited him at Windsor Castle and Sandringham in 2000, though he specified that the financier wasn’t given a formal invitation from the royal family.
“[It was] certainly at my invitation, not at the Royal Family’s invitation but remember that it was his girlfriend [Maxwell] that was the key element in this,” Mountbatten-Windsor insisted. “He was, as it were, plus one, to some extent in that aspect.”
That same year, Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein were both spotted at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Epstein’s Conviction
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to charges of child prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. As part of a plea deal, he served only 13 months behind bars.
Mountbatten-Windsor told Newsnight that he’d “ceased contact” with Epstein throughout the investigation and trial, but got back in touch in 2010.
“It was one of those things that somebody’s going through that sort of thing, ‘Well I’m terribly sorry I can’t be [seen with] you,’” he explained.
Prince Andrew’s New York Visit
Mountbatten-Windsor made a very controversial decision to visit Epstein at his New York City mansion in 2010, following the convicted sex offender’s release from the Palm Beach County Jail. On Newsnight, the royal was asked why he’d agreed to stay at Epstein’s home in light of his conviction.
“I’ve questioned myself as to why did I go and what was I doing and was it the right thing to do?” he said. “Now, I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together.”
The two were seen together days later when the paparazzi photographed them on a walk in Central Park.
“We had an opportunity to go for a walk in the park and that was the conversation coincidentally that was photographed which was when I said to him, I said, ‘Look, because of what has happened, I don’t think it is appropriate that we should remain in contact,’ and by mutual agreement during that walk in the park we decided that we would part company and I left,” Mountbatten-Windsor told Newsnight. “I think it was the next day and to this day I never had any contact with him from that day forward.”
Andrew Resigns From Key Role
The repercussions over Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein’s Central Park photograph were swift, as Buckingham Palace announced in 2011 that he would resign as a U.K. trade envoy.
Sexual Assault Allegation Against Andrew
As part of a victim’s rights lawsuit against Epstein and Maxwell, Giuffre alleged that she was sexually abused by Mountbatten-Windsor when she was 17 years old in 2001. Following a night out at London’s Tramp nightclub with Epstein, Maxwell and Mountbatten-Windsor, Giuffre alleged that she was paid $15,000 by Maxwell and told to “do for [Mountbatten-Windsor] what you do for Epstein” at Maxwell’s apartment.
“I’ve no recollection of ever meeting her. I’m, almost, in fact I’m convinced that I was never in Tramps with her,” Mountbatten-Windsor told Newsnight in 2019. “There are a number of things that are wrong with that story, one of which is that I don’t know where the bar is in Tramps. I don’t drink. I don’t think I’ve ever bought a drink in Tramps whenever I was there.”
In another fiery exchange from his Newsnight interview, Maitlis brought up Giuffre’s memory of Mountbatten-Windsor “profusely sweating” as they danced together at Tramps.
“There’s a slight problem with the sweating because I have a peculiar medical condition which is that I don’t sweat or I didn’t sweat at the time and that was … was it … yes, I didn’t sweat at the time because I had suffered what I would describe as an overdose of adrenalin in the Falkland’s War when I was shot at and I simply … it was almost impossible for me to sweat,” he replied.
A photograph of Mountbatten-Windsor and Giuffre exists though he denied the “photograph was taken” by Epstein in order to compel him to contribute to a rehabilitation of the financier’s image.
“If that photograph was taken with that purpose in mind, then it doesn’t … equate to what actually happened,” he insisted.
Giuffre won a defamation lawsuit against Maxwell in 2017 and settled a separate suit with Epstein in 2009.
Epstein’s 2nd Arrest
The financier was taken into custody on federal charges of sex trafficking minors on July 6, 2019. Federal officials apprehended Epstein at Teterboro airport in New Jersey as he returned from a flight to Paris.
Episode Found Dead
Epstein was found dead of a suspected suicide in his jail cell at New York City’s Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 10, 2019.
Newsnight Interview
Mountbatten-Windsor sat down for a 58-minute TV interview with BBC Newsnight journalist Emily Maitlis, where he hesitated when asked if he regretted his friendship with Epstein.
“Still not and the reason being is that the people that I met and the opportunities that I was given to learn either by him or because of him were actually very useful,” Mountbatten-Windsor answered. “He himself not, as it were, as close as you might think, we weren’t that close. So therefore, I mean yes, I would go and stay in his house but that was because of his girlfriend, not because of him.”
Responding to Giuffre’s accusations, Mountbatten-Windsor said he had “no recollection of ever meeting” her and denied any wrongdoing.
Stepping Back
In light of his disastrous Newsnight appearance, Mountbatten-Windsor announced in November 2019 that he was stepping back from royal duties.
“It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstance relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organizations and charities that I am proud to support,” he said. “Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.”
Lawsuit and Private Settlement
Giuffre accused Mountbatten-Windsor of sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress in a lawsuit filed in 2021. Lawyers for the royal confirmed in February 2022 that he’d settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum. Mountbatten-Windsor continued to maintain his innocence.
“Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights,” a letter from his attorneys read. “Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.”
Giuffre died by suicide at age 41 in April 2025.
New Book on Prince Andrew Exposes Alleged Emails
Andrew Lownie’s tell-all 2025 book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York set off a firestorm of new allegations about the prince’s connection to Epstein. Multiple U.K. outlets published alleged email correspondence between Mountbatten-Windsor, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and Epstein.
One alleged email sent in 2011 saw Mountbatten-Windsor writing to Epstein that they were “in this together and will have to rise above it.” Another email allegedly sent after Ferguson publicly distanced herself from Epstein in 2011 saw her address the convicted sex offender as “a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.”
In response to the resurfaced messages, Ferguson’s spokesperson told BBC News: “The duchess spoke of her regret about her association with Epstein many years ago, and as they have always been, her first thoughts are with his victims. Like many people, she was taken in by his lies. As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with paedophilia.”
Prince Andrew Officially Resigns From Royal Duties, Gives Up His Title
With tension once again mounting over the Epstein scandal, Mountbatten-Windsor announced in October 2025 that he would give up his royal title.
Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Giuffre, died in April 2025, with her family confirming her death was due to suicide. Giuffre, who was just 41 at the time of her death in Neergabby, Australia, had been at the center of accusations against Prince Andrew and the late Epstein involving sexual abuse and sex […]
“In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family,” Mountbatten-Windsor said in a statement to Us on October 17, 2025. “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.”
He concluded, “With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honors which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
Buckingham Palace Begins Process to Strip Prince Andrew of His Royal Titles
A palace spokesperson announced on October 30, 2025, that King Charles III had initiated the process to strip his brother of his royal titles. As a result, his sibling would “now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor,” the palace confirmed.
Mountbatten-Windsor will be required to move out of his residence at Royal Lodge, which he acquired as part of a peppercorn lease agreement in 2003.
“[Mountbatten-Windsor’s] lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence,” Buckingham Palace told Us in a statement. “Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”
Prince Andrew Seen in Newly Released Photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s Estate
On December 12, 2025, Democrats from the House Oversight Committee released 19 photos of more than 95,000 recovered from Epstein’s estate. President Trump, former President Bill Clinton, director Woody Allen and former Microsoft chairman Bill Gates were all featured in the photos but all have denied any knowledge of Epstein’s wrongdoing.
The images were obtained as part of the House Oversight Committee’s agreement with the Epstein estate to review photos and videos “taken at any property owned, rented, operated, or used by Epstein from January 1, 1990 through August 10, 2019.”
Bill Gates and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in photo obtained from Epstein estate. Courtesy of Oversight Dems/X
Mountbatten-Windsor is shown alongside Gates in one of the newly released photos. The tech magnate told the Wall Street Journal in January 2025 that it was “foolish” to spend time with Epstein.
“He sort of got time with various people by spending time with other people,” Gates said. “So, yes, I think I was quite stupid. I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that. It was just a huge mistake.”
Us reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
Prince Andrew Won’t Face Police Action Over Bodyguard Allegation
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told BBC News on December 13, 2025, that police would take “no further action” against Mountbatten-Windsor over accusations that he asked his taxpayer funded police protection officer for information on Giuffre.
The Mail on Sunday reported in October that Mountbatten-Windsor gave Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to a protection officer. Mountbatten-Windsor has not commented on the allegations.
“The Met remains committed to thoroughly assessing any new information that could assist in this matter,” they said. “To date, we have not received any additional evidence that would support reopening the investigation. In the absence of any further information, we will be taking no further action.”
The police statement continued, “As with any other matter, should new and relevant information be brought to our attention, including in any information resulting from the release of material in the U.S., we will assess it.”
Giuffre’s family said in a statement that they were “deeply disappointed” that U.K. police dropped the probe “without explanation and without speaking to us.”
Us reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
