The unnamed woman’s lawyers have claimed she was sent to spend the night with then-Prince Andrew at Royal Lodge – and given a tour of Buckingham Palace after their encounter
The spotlight was on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor again tonight following claims his paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein arranged for one of his sex slaves to spend the night at Royal Lodge.
The woman’s account of visiting Andrew’s then-home in Windsor Great Park estate is the first time an Epstein victim has claimed an encounter took place inside a royal residence. Her US lawyer Brad Edwards said: “We’re talking about at least one woman who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew. And she even had, after a night with Prince Andrew, a tour of Buckingham Palace.
“Our client has suffered enough. As everyone knows, Andrew’s power and access flowed directly from his status in the Royal Family, and that power enabled the conduct at issue.”
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Previously, Epstein abuse victim Virginia Giuffre alleged she was also brought to London to have sex with the ex-prince in 2001 aged 17. Mr Edwards also lashed out at King Charles for stripping his brother of his titles, saying it allowed Andrew to maintain that he has no money and no ability to provide compensation, and to “allow these women to just suffer”.
He added: “The time has come for the monarchy to acknowledge the harm caused and to ensure any victims are fairly treated. This is about responsibility and repair – not avoidance.”
The alleged encounter is said to have taken place at the 30-bed Berkshire mansion in 2010, when the woman, who is not British, was in her 20s. The Mirror has approached Andrew for comment following the allegations made by Mr Edwards to the BBC. BBC News confirmed it had also asked him for comment, but so far he has not responded to the latest accusations.
Andrew has previously strenuously denied any wrongdoing, including in relation to Ms Giuffre’s claims of three forced sexual encounters, including in New York and once on Epstein’s private Caribbean island. Further revelations about Andrew’s relationship with the disgraced financier have been unearthed since Friday, when the US justice department released three million documents from the Epstein Files. They include a picture showing him crouched on all fours over a woman, whose identity has been protected, while another shows him placing a hand on her torso.
Also released is a statement from a woman to the FBI where she accuses Epstein of trafficking her. The woman, speaking to agents in 2020, claimed she was abused by Epstein between 1996 and 2018 in both the UK and France. In the haunting testimony, the woman says: “I have been trafficked… He [Epstein] and Andrew have dragged me through hell and back.
“They tore me and hurt the very soul of me. He became a controller and sexually abused me. He was friends with Andrew, who did the same thing.”
It is not known if this is the same woman alleging the Royal Lodge encounter. Mr Edwards, from the US firm Edwards Henderson, speaks for more than 200 Epstein victims worldwide. He represented Ms Giuffre, who filed a civil lawsuit in the US against Andrew in 2021, settling the case in February 2022 for an estimated £12million, with no admission of wrongdoing from Andrew. She took her own life last year.
The lawyer said he had been in contact with “certain legal counsel” linked to Andrew in the US, but said he had “seemingly been disconnected from his lawyers”. Communications stopped after the King formally removed his disgraced brother’s titles and honours, he said.
Another high-profile lawyer, Gloria Allred, who also represents many of Epstein’s victims, said yesterday that Andrew “was at a crime scene” when he stayed at Epstein’s homes so “what did he observe when he was there?” She went on: “Literally for years, I have been calling on Andrew to speak out, to give an interview to the FBI or Homeland Security.”
The allegations pile more pressure on Andrew to testify before US Congress. Today a number of government ministers joined Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s call for him to “give all the assistance he possibly can”. Communities Secretary Steve Reed said in an interview: “I mean, what would anyone think? It’s a very disturbing image and very worrying allegations.”
However, he refused to say if the government would comply with an extradition request from the US, saying it would depend on what offence, if any, is alleged. He said: “But the principle here is very, very clear: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor clearly has insight into what was going on, and he should testify, because the victims deserve and need him, and anybody else who may have witnessed things, to do that.”
He added: “Let’s see what they say… But there are many ways to testify. You can testify by video-link as well. However powerful or influential the individual, I think given the gravity of these cases, people need to come forward. And that includes the former Prince Andrew.”
The FBI formally closed its probe into Epstein last July. Agents concluded that there was no evidence to justify an investigation against “uncharged third parties” following a “systematic review”, however they later stated that if new evidence emerged, they would review it. Bureau chiefs also said they found no evidence Epstein had been murdered after he was found hanging in his prison cell in 2019, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Andrew was stripped of his royal titles last October, following the publication of Ms Giuffre’s posthumous memoir. He was also ordered out of Royal Lodge, his home since 2004, and banished to remote Marsh Farm on the Sandringham estate.
