Prince Andrew and the Epstein sex scandal he cannot shrug off

LONDON: Britain’s Prince Andrew faced renewed scrutiny on Tuesday after the release of a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent accusers of the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which detailed new allegations about the royal.

Andrew, 65, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth and King Charles’ younger brother, has always denied accusations made by Giuffre, who died by suicide in April.

Here are details about the case and its implications for Andrew.

WHAT ARE GIUFFRE’S ALLEGATIONS ABOUT ANDREW?

In her memoir “Nobody’s Girl”, Giuffre wrote that when she was a teenager she had been forced to have sex with Andrew, the eighth-in-line to the British throne, on three occasions at the behest of Epstein.

Read more: Prince Andrew under scrutiny for attempt to discredit Virginia Giuffre

One of the occasions took place at the London home of Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell who she says facilitated her introduction to Andrew.

The memoir says Andrew correctly guessed Giuffre’s age – 17 – when they first met, and includes details of encounters in London, New York, and on Epstein’s private island. In her book, Giuffre said “entitled” Andrew believed it was his birthright to have sex with her.

Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in prison while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges, was jailed in 2008 for child sex offences. Maxwell was found guilty in 2021 of sex trafficking by helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls and later sentenced to 20 years in prison.

PRINCE ANDREW’S DENIALS AND THE ‘NEWSNIGHT’ INTERVIEW

In 2011, Andrew quit his role as Britain’s roving trade ambassador, partly because of his friendship with Epstein.

With Epstein making headlines again in 2019, Andrew gave what turned out to be a disastrous interview to the BBC’s Newsnight programme.

The prince denied ever meeting Giuffre, said he could not have had sex with her in London as she said because he was in a pizza restaurant for a children’s party, and that her account of him sweating profusely at a nightclub was wrong because he suffered from a medical condition that stopped him perspiring.

He also cast doubt on an infamous picture from 2001 which showed him with his arm around Giuffre’s waist.

He has always continued to deny the accusations although in 2022, he agreed a financial deal to settle a US lawsuit brought by Giuffre.

He told the BBC that he had broken off contact with Epstein in 2010 but had gone to stay at his home in New York because he was “too honourable” to break off the relationship by phone.

CHINESE ‘SPY’ AND ‘WE’LL PLAY MORE SOON’ SCANDALS

In the wake of the BBC interview, Andrew was abandoned by businesses and his charities, and he was forced to step back from public duties.

But Giuffre’s lawsuit and the criminal prosecution of Maxwell forced Buckingham Palace and the royals to take further action to distance themselves from him. In January 2022, he was stripped of his military links and royal patronages, and lost his moniker of “His Royal Highness”.

Last December, it was disclosed in a court ruling that a close Chinese business associate of Andrew was thought by the British government to be a Chinese spy.

The man involved has denied the allegations, but it meant the prince’s already battered reputation took a further hit, and provoked further questions about his finances, coming after Charles cut off his annual allowance.

Then earlier this month, The Mail on Sunday newspaper published an email it said was from Andrew to Epstein, written in 2011 which was weeks after he had told Newsnight he had broken off contact with the financier.

In the email the prince wrote: “Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon”, the paper said.

NO LONGER A DUKE OR A WORKING ROYAL, BUT STILL A PRINCE

Last Friday, Andrew announced he would give up using his title of “Duke of York”, and all his remaining honours, such as his membership of the Order of the Garter, Britain’s oldest chivalric order.

Read more: Epstein files: Prince Andrew gives up title of Duke of York

He will also no longer attend the annual royal Christmas get-togethers at Sandringham, the royal home in eastern England.

However, he remains a prince of the realm, his position in the line of succession is unaltered, and he will continue to live at Royal Lodge, a large property on the estate surrounding Windsor Castle, a historic royal palace to the west of London, where he has a lease until 2078.

Although he will no longer be known as the Duke of York, he has not been stripped of the title, something which requires an act of parliament, and it remains in abeyance.

IS THIS THE END OF THE SAGA?

London’s police force said it was “actively looking” into newspaper allegations that Andrew had asked one of his personal protection officers in 2011 to dig up information about the Giuffre allegations, which a Buckingham Palace source said should be “examined in an appropriate way”.

There are also calls for him to be thrown out of Royal Lodge, which is owned by the Crown Estate, following newspaper reports that the prince has not paid any rent for two decades.