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Tag: Prince Andrew

  • Photos Released In Epstein Files Appear To Show Andrew On All Fours Over Female

    Photos Released In Epstein Files Appear To Show Andrew On All Fours Over Female

    Photographs appearing to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling on all fours over a female lying on the ground have been included in the latest batch of Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice.

    In two of the images, he is seen touching the person, who is unidentified and fully clothed, on her stomach. Another image shows him staring directly at the camera.

    Separate emails released on Friday also suggest the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein invited Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman. The messages were exchanged in August 2010, two years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor.

    The messages and images are likely to put further pressure on Mountbatten-Windsor, who has faced years of scrutiny over his past friendship with Epstein. BBC News has approached Mountbatten-Windsor for comment. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

    Photographs appearing to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling on all fours over a female lying on the ground have been included in the latest batch of Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice.

    In two of the images, he is seen touching the person, who is unidentified and fully clothed, on her stomach. Another image shows him staring directly at the camera.

    Separate emails released on Friday also suggest the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein invited Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman. The messages were exchanged in August 2010, two years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor.

    The messages and images are likely to put further pressure on Mountbatten-Windsor, who has faced years of scrutiny over his past friendship with Epstein. BBC News has approached Mountbatten-Windsor for comment. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

    The emails between Epstein and an account named “The Duke” on 11 and 12 August 2010 suggest that the American wanted to introduce “A” to a 26-year-old Russian woman, whom Epstein suggests he “might enjoy having dinner with”.

    He says that the woman would be in London in August 2010.

    “The Duke” replies that he would be in Geneva “until the morning of the 22nd but would be delighted to see her” before asking: “Will she be bringing a message from you? Please give her my contact details to get in touch.”

    He asks Epstein whether there is “any other information you might know about her that might be useful to know?”

    Epstein replies that “she [is] 26, russian, clevere [sic] beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email”.

    Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl in Florida and completed his sentence in July 2010, a month before the email exchange. The BBC has not been able to independently verify the emails.

    Also among the latest tranche of documents is an email exchange dated 27 September 2010 between Epstein and the account titled “The Duke”.

    Epstein writes that he is in London, adding: “What time woudl [sic] you like me and [redacted], we will also need/ have private time”.

    “The Duke” replies: “I am just departing Scotland should be down by 1800. I’ll ring you when I get down if you can give me a number to ring. Alternatively we could have dinner at Buckingham Palace and lots of privacy. A”.

    Epstein replies: “bp pleease [sic].”

    The emails do not indicate any wrongdoing. The BBC has contacted Mountbatten-Windsor for a response.

    Another document, from 2020, is a formal request for assistance from US authorities asking to interview the former prince as they believed that “Prince Andrew may have been a witness to and/or participant in certain events of relevance to the ongoing investigation”.

    They said documentary evidence “has revealed information suggesting that Prince Andrew had knowledge that Maxwell recruited females to engage in sex acts with Epstein and other men” and “there is evidence that Prince Andrew engaged in sexual conduct involving one of Epstein’s victims”.

    The letter also said: “Prince Andrew is not presently a target of the investigation, and US authorities have not, to date, gathered evidence that he has committed any crime under US law.”

    Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and said he did not “see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction”.

    He has faced allegations, which he repeatedly denied, that he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre as a teenager after she said she was trafficked by Epstein.

    He paid a financial settlement to Giuffre, who he claims to have never met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022.

    Some emails which appear to have been between Sarah Ferguson and Epstein have also been found in the latest release.

    One email dated 4 April 2009 – signed “Love, Sarah, The red Head.!!” – read: “Hello Jeffrey. I am landing in Palm Beach in a couple of hours. Is there any chance on my quick layover, that I can get to have a quick cup of tea…”

    The email goes on to discuss ideas for Ferguson’s company, Mother’s Army. The former Duchess of York refers to Epstein as “My dear spectacular and special friend Jeffrey. You are a legend, and I am so proud of you.”

    The financier was still under house arrest when the email exchange was sent.

    In another exchange in August 2009, Ferguson emails Epstein again to discuss “my Sarah Ferguson Brand” and thanks the billionaire “for being the brother I have always wished for”.

    The emails do not indicate any wrongdoing. The BBC has contacted Ferguson for a response.

    More than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images are included in the latest batch. Their release comes six weeks after adeadline mandated in a law signed by President Donald Trump.Many of the documents are heavily redacted, with some files showing pages which are entirely blacked-out.

  • Prince Andrew Faces Renewed Scrutiny After Release of Virginia Giuffre’s Posthumous Memoir

    Prince Andrew Faces Renewed Scrutiny After Release of Virginia Giuffre’s Posthumous Memoir

    Prince Andrew is again under intense scrutiny following revelations from Nobody’s Girl, the posthumous memoir of Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused him of sexual abuse linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

    The BBC obtained a copy of the book, which is set for publication on Tuesday, nearly six months after Giuffre’s death.

    In it, she describes years of abuse by Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, writing that she once feared she might “die a sex slave.”

    Giuffre claims she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions – in London, New York, and on Epstein’s private island – including once “with Epstein and approximately eight other young women.”

    She recalled that when they first met, Maxwell told her she would meet a “handsome prince,” and Andrew, then 41, “guessed correctly: seventeen.”

    “He was friendly enough, but still entitled – as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright,” Giuffre wrote.

    She said Epstein later gave her $15,000 “for servicing the man the tabloids called ‘Randy Andy.’”

    Prince Andrew has consistently denied all allegations and reached an out-of-court financial settlement with Giuffre in 2022, while admitting no wrongdoing.

    The memoir’s release comes as the prince faces growing political and public pressure. Last week, he announced he would stop using his titles, including Duke of York, and step away from the Order of the Garter.

    “I vigorously deny the accusations against me,” he added in a statement.

    Some UK lawmakers are now calling for Andrew’s titles to be formally removed.

    MP Rachael Maskell told the BBC it was “incredibly strange that you can give a title, but you can’t remove a title.” Scottish National Party leader Stephen Flynn said there was “no justification” for the government not to act.

    Meanwhile, London’s Metropolitan Police said they are “actively” reviewing reports that Prince Andrew allegedly tried to obtain Giuffre’s personal information through a police protection officer in 2011 – claims described as “scandalous” by former royal protection chief Dai Davies.

    Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence.

  • Virginia Giuffre, Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein Accuser, Dies

    Virginia Giuffre, Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein Accuser, Dies

    Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse, has died by suicide aged 41, her family has said.

    Ms Giuffre was one of the most outspoken accusers of convicted sex offenders Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend. She alleged they trafficked her to the Duke of York when she was 17, which Prince Andrew has strenuously denied.

    Relatives said in a statement on Friday that she had been a “fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse”, and that the “toll of abuse… became unbearable”.

    “She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking,” they said.

    The statement described the mother of three “as the light that lifted so many survivors” and said she died on Friday at her farm in Western Australia.

    West Australia police said they were called to a home in the Neergabby area on Friday night, where Ms Giuffre was found unresponsive.

    A statement continued: “The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”

    Ms Giuffre – who was born in the US – had been living with her children and husband Robert in the suburb of North Perth, although recent reports suggested the couple had split after 22 years of marriage.

    Three weeks ago, Ms Giuffre posted on Instagram to say she had been seriously injured in a car accident, which her family later said she had not intended to make public. Local police later disputed the severity of the crash.

    In a statement, Ms Giuffre’s long-time spokesperson Dini von Mueffling described her as “one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.

    She said Ms Giuffre was a “beacon to other survivors and victims” and that “it was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her”.

    After making her abuse allegations public, Ms Giuffre became a prominent campaigner and was closely associated with the Me Too movement.

    Ms Giuffre alleged that Epstein and Maxwell trafficked her to Prince Andrew when she was 17.

    The prince, who has denied all claims against him, reached an out-of-court settlement with her in 2022.

    The settlement included a statement in which he expressed regret for his association with Epstein but contained no admission of liability or apology.

    Ms Giuffre said she became a victim of sex trafficking when she was a teenager.

    She said she met Maxwell, a British socialite, in 2000.

    From there, she said she was introduced to American financier Epstein and alleged years of abuse by him and his associates.

    Epstein took his own life in prison in 2019, where he was being held awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

    He was previously convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

    Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the US for her role in Epstein’s trafficking and abuse.

  • Prince Andrew is served sexual assault lawsuit in United States

    Prince Andrew is served sexual assault lawsuit in United States

    Britain’s Prince Andrew has been served with a sexual assault lawsuit in the United States by lawyers for a woman who says she was forced to have sex with him at the London home of a friend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, court papers show.

    In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, lawyers for Virginia Giuffre said they sent the civil lawsuit to the prince’s Los Angeles-based lawyer Andrew Brettler by email and FedEx, and both copies had been received by Monday morning.

    Under federal rules, the Duke of York has 21 days to respond or could face a default judgment. Giuffre’s lawyers previously said they also served Andrew, who is Queen Elizabeth’s second son, in Britain.

    Andrew and his lawyers have denied Giuffre’s claims. The 61-year-old prince has not been charged with crimes. Giuffre’s Aug. 9 lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

    Brettler did not respond to a request for comment. There was no comment from the prince’s London legal team.

    Giuffre, 38, accused Andrew of forcing her to have sex when she was underage at the London home of Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

    She also said Andrew abused her at around the same time in Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan and on Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

    Epstein, a financier and registered sex offender, killed himself in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

    Giuffre sued under New York’s Child Victims Act, a 2019 law giving survivors of childhood sexual abuse a window to sue their alleged abusers over conduct that occurred many years or decades earlier. The deadline to sue has since passed.

    U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversees Giuffre’s lawsuit, has urged both sides not to dwell on “technicalities” and instead to focus on the case’s substance.

    “I can see a lot of legal fees being spent and time being expended and delay, which ultimately may not be terribly productive for anyone,” Kaplan said at a Sept. 13 hearing.

    Last week London’s High Court said it would arrange for Andrew to be served if the parties failed to work out their own arrangement and gave the prince’s lawyers a week to appeal that decision.

    A source close to the Duke’s lawyers said it was highly unlikely any challenge would be pursued now. read more

    Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges she helped recruit and groom underage girls for Epstein to abuse. Her trial is Nov. 29.