A trove of emails connected to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein was made public this week, revealing communications involving Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. The messages, released by a congressional oversight body, appear to show the former royal urgently attempting to dissociate himself from Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, as media scrutiny intensified over a decade ago.
The correspondence from 2011 centers on a forthcoming news report that was expected to include allegations from an individual understood to be Virginia Giuffre. In one exchange, after being alerted to the story, Windsor pressed for a clear public denial of any involvement.
“Please make sure that every statement or legal letter states clearly that I am NOT involved and that I knew and know NOTHING about any of these allegations,” he wrote, adding, “I can’t take any more of this my end.”
Epstein, in his replies, dismissed the allegations as fantasy and attempted to downplay the situation. In one message, he suggested a response for the press, denying knowledge of various prominent figures and attributing the possession of a controversial address book to theft by an employee.
These communications emerge against the backdrop of longstanding and serious allegations. Windsor has been accused of sexual assault by Giuffre, who says she was trafficked by Epstein. The former royal has consistently denied all accusations.
The fallout from the scandal has had significant consequences for his public role. In 2022, he was required to step back from official duties. Later that year, following the posthumous publication of a memoir by Giuffre, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III had initiated the formal removal of his brother’s royal titles and styles. He is now known privately as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
Furthermore, he has been served notice to vacate his residence at Royal Lodge and will relocate to private accommodation. A palace statement indicated these actions were necessary despite Windsor’s continued denial of the allegations.
