Prince Andrew takes spin as pressure grows on him to speak to US investigators in Epstein probe

Prince Andrew has been seen entering his home at Windsor a week after Jeffrey Epstein’s madam Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested on charges she lured at least three girls to be sexually abused by paedophile Epstein.

The Duke of York took a Range Rover for a spin outside the gates of Windsor Castle, where he has been keeping low profile at his lodge on the Queen’s estate. 

Andrew, 60, is involved in a war of words with the US authorities over whether he will assist their inquiries into the sex crimes of his paedophile friend Epstein, who hanged himself in a New York jail cell last summer. 

Prince Andrew has been seen entering his home at Windsor a week after Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested on charges she lured at least three girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein

Andrew, 60, is involved in a war of words with US authorities over whether he will assist their inquiries into the sex crimes of his friend Epstein, who hanged himself in a New York jail cell

Andrew, 60, is involved in a war of words with US authorities over whether he will assist their inquiries into the sex crimes of his friend Epstein, who hanged himself in a New York jail cell

Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts, aged 17 at Ghislaine Maxwell's townhouse in London and the Duke of York is in a war of words with the US authorities and the royal insists he is willing to speak to them about Jeffrey Epstein

Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts, aged 17 at Ghislaine Maxwell’s townhouse in London and the Duke of York is in a war of words with the US authorities and the royal insists he is willing to speak to them about Jeffrey Epstein

Socialite Maxwell, above in 2013, the daughter of the late British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, is the former girlfriend and long-time close associate of Epstein

How Duke of York’s annual meetings with Epstein including after he was sent to jail caused Prince Andrew decades of trouble 

Here is a timeline of the duke’s relationship with Epstein.

– 1999

Andrew first meets Epstein, reportedly introduced through his friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell.

Andrew welcomes Epstein to the Queen’s private Scottish retreat in Aberdeenshire. Andrew later says he sees Epstein ‘infrequently’, adding ‘probably no more than only once or twice a year’.

– 2000

Andrew and Ms Maxwell are seen on holiday with Epstein at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Epstein and Ms Maxwell attend a party at Windsor Castle hosted by the Queen to mark Andrew’s 40th birthday, the Princess Royal’s 50th, the Queen Mother’s 100th and Princess Margaret’s 70th.

– 2001

Virginia Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew ‘three times, including one orgy’, with the first encounter allegedly taking place in Ms Maxwell’s London townhouse. Ms Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew on two more occasions, at Epstein’s New York home and at an ‘orgy’ on his private island in the Caribbean.

– 2008

Epstein admits prostituting minors and is sentenced to 18 months in prison.

– 2010

Epstein is released from jail. Andrew is photographed with the disgraced Epstein in New York’s Central Park.

Footage emerges years later, reportedly shot on December 6 2010, showing him inside Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, from where he is seen looking out from a large door of the property waving a woman goodbye after Epstein leaves to get into a chauffeur-driven car.

– 2011

The duke quits his role as UK trade envoy after the fallout from the Central Park photos.

– 2015

Buckingham Palace denies Andrew has committed any impropriety after he is named in US court documents related to Epstein. A woman, later named in reports as Ms Roberts, alleges in papers filed in Florida that she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, which is under the age of consent in the state. 

In April the claims against Andrew are struck from US civil court records following a federal judge’s ruling.

– 2019

Newly released legal documents show that Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged Epstein victim, claimed Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire’s Manhattan apartment in 2001. Buckingham Palace said the allegations are ‘categorically untrue’.

Epstein is found dead in his jail cell on August 10, having killed himself after being charged with sex trafficking.

Later that month a pilot on Epstein’s private jet claims Andrew was a passenger on past flights with the financier and Ms Roberts. 

On November 16, the prince gave a ‘disastrous’ BBC interview in which he spoke about his friendship with Epstein and addressed allegations of his own sexual conduct.  

The duke denied he slept with Virginia Roberts, one of Epstein’s victims, on three separate occasions, twice while she was underage, saying one encounter in 2001 did not happen as he spent the day with his daughter Princess Beatrice, taking her to Pizza Express in Woking for a party. The same alleged sexual liaison, which the American said began with the royal sweating heavily as they danced at London nightclub Tramp, was factually wrong as the duke said he had a medical condition at the time which meant he did not sweat.

He cast doubt on the authenticity of a picture that appears to show Andrew with his arm around the waist of Miss Roberts, when a teenager.

2020

Ghislaine Maxwell is arrested in New Hampshire as pressure grows on Andrew to speak to the FBI. 

The Duke resigned from his royal duties following intense criticism after his car crash interview for the BBC’s Newsnight programme last November.

Andrew allegedly slept with 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre after being introduced to her by Maxwell in London in 2001. He denies the allegations, and told Emily Maitlis that he had ‘no recollection of ever meeting’ Giuffre and had ‘absolutely no memory’ of a photograph taken of him with Giuffre at Maxwell’s residence in London. 

US authorities regard the Duke as a witness to a criminal investigation, and have filed a mutual legal assistance request to UK authorities to question Andrew. 

Attorney General Bill Barr said that Andrew must speak to the FBI, adding: ‘The department wants to talk to Prince Andrew.  

‘That’s why the Southern District has been making efforts to communicate with him. We’ve made it clear that we’d like to communicate with him’.

A source close to Prince Andrew previously told DailyMail.com that he was ‘bewildered’ by the ongoing claims that he wasn’t cooperating, and says his team tried to reach prosecutors several times. 

It follows Maxwell, 58, being arrested last Thursday on charges she helped lure at least three girls – one as young as 14 – to be sexually abused by Epstein, who was accused of victimising dozens of girls and women over many years.  

According to a former friend of Maxwell’s, she ‘has tapes of two prominent US politicians having sex with minors’ and boasted of ‘owning’ powerful people.

The ex-jewel robber, who used the pseudonym William Steel, said they ‘forced’ him to watch the footage as they wanted to convince him of their ‘power’.

He also claimed to have seen clips of ‘celebrities’ and ‘world figures’ having ‘threesomes, even orgies’ with minors. 

Steel told The Sun: ‘They wanted to convince me of their power and who they held in their grip. They boasted about ‘owning’ powerful people.’ 

He added: ‘I saw videos of very powerful people – celebrities, world figures – in those videos having sex, threesomes, even orgies with minors.’ 

The former friend also referred to two ‘high-profile’ American politicians who were in videos with minors. 

Maxwell, the daughter of the late British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, is the former girlfriend and long-time close associate of Epstein.

She is accused of facilitating his crimes and on some occasions joined him in sexually abusing the girls, according to the indictment against her. 

Several Epstein victims have described Maxwell as his chief enabler, recruiting and grooming young girls for abuse. She has denied wrongdoing and called claims against her ‘absolute rubbish.’ 

Maxwell was arrested by a team of federal agents last week at a $1 million estate she had purchased in New Hampshire. The investigators had been keeping an eye on Maxwell and knew she had been hiding out in various locations in New England.

She had switched her email address, ordered packages under someone else´s name and registered at least one new phone number under an alias ‘G Max,’ prosecutors have said. 

The British socialite will appear in New York’s southern district court on July 14 at 1pm and the hearing will take place over video-link due to coronavirus. 

She will join from the ‘hell-hole’ jail where she is being held and only the judge, Alison Nathan, will be present along with one prosecutor and one defence attorney.

Maxwell – a friend to billionaires, celebrities, presidents and royalty before her arrest – is facing a six-count federal indictment which could see her jailed for 35 years.

She is accused in four counts of acting as Epstein’s madam, hunting down and ‘training’ young girls for him to abuse in the late 1990s.

Another two counts accuse her of lying about the abuse to a court when she was sued by one of the victims – Virginia Roberts – in 2015.

However, observers and experts believe she is not the state’s primary target, and will likely be offered a plea deal to turn on others in Epstein’s circle.

Epstein was initially jailed for 18 months in 2008 after being allowed to plead guilty to a single charge of soliciting sex from a child prostitute, despite at one stage facing a 53-page FBI indictment. 

Speaking to ABC News Mr Barr said the government had Maxwell’s security ‘locked up’ to ensure she would neither be able to kill herself or be harmed, Barr answered firmly: ‘Yes. We have asked them to tell us specifically the protocols they’re following and we have a number of redundant systems to monitor the situation.’ 

He added that he was ‘livid’ when Epstein killed himself and that he wanted to see him brought to justice. 

‘I was livid obviously. I believed very strongly in that case and I was very proud of the work done by the department, the Southern District on that case, and as you recall, after he committed suicide, I said that I was confident that we would continue to pursue this case vigorously and continue to pursue anyone who was complicit in it. I was very happy we were able to get Ms Maxwell,’ he said. 

Maxwell, left, was last seen at an In-N-Out Burger in August. She is now in custody in Brooklyn. Epstein killed himself in jail last August. Some believe he was murdered

Maxwell, left, was last seen at an In-N-Out Burger in August. She is now in custody in Brooklyn. Epstein killed himself in jail last August. Some believe he was murdered

Maxwell, left, was last seen at an In-N-Out Burger in August. She is now in custody in Brooklyn. Epstein killed himself in jail last August. Some believe he was murdered

A former friend of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, pictured in 2005, claimed they 'forced' him to watch the footage as they wanted to convince him of their 'power'

A former friend of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, pictured in 2005, claimed they ‘forced’ him to watch the footage as they wanted to convince him of their ‘power’

Attorney General Bill Barr said the government had Maxwell's security 'locked up' and that she won't be able to kill herself or be harmed

Attorney General Bill Barr said the government had Maxwell’s security ‘locked up’ and that she won’t be able to kill herself or be harmed

Maxwell, 58, is currently in custody in Brooklyn, awaiting her first court appearance on charges of child sex trafficking and perjury. 

Speculation is rife that she may talk to prosecutors about others in her and Epstein’s circle in an effort to reduce her potential sentence. 

Among the names on the list is Andrew, who allegedly slept with a 17-year-old after being introduced to her by Maxwell in London in 2001. 

Barr said that prosecutors ‘definitely’ want to speak to the royal and claims they have been trying to contact him.   

The Duke, who stayed with Epstein at his homes, including a Manhattan mansion, and flew on his private jet nicknamed the ‘Lolita Express’, has categorically denied seeing or suspecting anything untoward.

He has also strenuously rejects claims by Epstein sex slave Virginia Roberts, who has alleged that she was forced to have sex with the duke on three occasions.

Andrew has been urged to start talking to the FBI before British socialite Maxwell, the daughter of the late media tycoon Robert Maxwell, gives her own version of events. 

The property where Maxwell was arrested by the FBI seen in an aerial photograph in Bradford, New Hampshire. She is accused in four counts of acting as Epstein's madam

The property where Maxwell was arrested by the FBI seen in an aerial photograph in Bradford, New Hampshire. She is accused in four counts of acting as Epstein’s madam

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