Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor pictured in new release of Epstein case files
House Oversight Democrats released images of high-profile figures including Andrew and US president Donald Trump from Epstein’s estate
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been pictured in a set of images released from the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Photos from Epstein’s estate were released by the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Friday, including images of US president Donald Trump, Mountbatten-Windsor, and Steve Bannon. It’s not clear when the photos were taken, as they are undated. No captions or context have been provided for any of the images.
Of the 19 photos shared by the Democrats, there is only one photo of Andrew where he stands with Microsoft magnate and philanthropist Bill Gates during the Malaria Summit in London in 2018.
Epstein is not featured in the image, which appears to be a cropped version of a professionally taken-photograph, which excludes the then-Prince Charles, who was also in frame. It remains unclear why the photo was part of Epstein's estate. Andrew’s appearance in the photo is not an indication of wrongdoing.
Andrew, who was born a prince, had his birthright title removed by the King because of his “serious lapses of judgment” over his association with Epstein. Andrew, among many of those photographed, has denied any wrongdoing surrounding his association with the disgraced financier.
Scrutiny began to circle around Andrew following a 2019 interview with BBC Newsnight, where he was questioned about his friendship with the convicted paedophile.
Andrew said in the controversial interview that he met Epstein through British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell who had been in a relationship with the financier. He continued to visit Epstein in New York after the financier’s conviction for child sex offences in 2008.
Controversy mounted earlier this year following the release of Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir Of Surviving Abuse And Fighting For Justice, in which the now-deceased author said he “believed having sex with me was his birthright.”
The royal settled allegations of sexual abuse in court with Ms Giuffre in 2022 involving a substantial donation to her charity and an acknowledgment of her suffering, without admitting liability in the civil case.
Ms Giuffre claimed she had sex with the former prince on three separate occasions, including while staying at the house of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, near Hyde Park, London, in March 2001.
The extract states: “Maxwell woke me up that morning by announcing in a sing-songy voice: ‘Get out of bed, sleepyhead!’ It was going to be a special day, she said. Just like Cinderella, I was going to meet a handsome prince!”
Andrew wasn’t the only high-profile figure in the batch of pictures released. One photo portrayed President Trump with five women, whose faces have been blurred out, as he grinned in the middle. More personal photos saw Epstein with director Woody Allen and Steve Bannon.
One photo saw Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson on a beach with Epstein and another man. Claims about Sir Richard have also linked him to Epstein previously.
Last year, Sarah Ransome, a victim of Epstein who claimed the paedophile financier made sex tapes of Andrew and Sir Richard, repeated her allegation that “there are videos that exist”.
At the time, a Virgin Group spokeswoman said on behalf of Sir Richard: “In a New Yorker report published in 2019, Ransome admitted that she had ‘invented’ the tapes.
“We can confirm that Sarah Ransome’s claims are baseless and unfounded.”
Another image shows a collection of condoms — on sale for $4.50 each — depicting a caricature of Trump’s face above the phrase: “I’m HUUUUGE!”
House Oversight Committee Democrats wrote in a social media post Friday that they had “received 95,000 new photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate.
“These disturbing images raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. Time to end this White House cover-up. Release the files,” the statement added.
American politicians have also criticised the former prince for his “silence” after he missed a deadline last month to respond to their request to sit for an interview about Epstein.
Andrew is set to move from Royal Lodge in Windsor to the King’s private Sandringham estate in Norfolk at some point in the new year, completing his internal exile.