Declassified files by the United States Department of Justice regarding the Epstein case once again show that Andrew not only did not play fair, but took full advantage of Epstein's perks.
In his revealing exclusive interview on the BBC's Newsnight program in 2019, the former Duke of York referred to his visit to the pedophile in New York in December 2010 with the supposed intention of breaking ties. "I felt that doing it over the phone was a cowardly way. I had to go see him and talk to him," he confessed.
But nothing could be further from the truth. At that time, Andrew was still the UK's special representative for international trade, a position he held from 2002 to 2011, and had access to privileged information that he supposedly shared with the financier.
In this whole scheme, The Telegraph has managed to piece together the timeline of a trip that put Queen Elizabeth II's favorite son in a tight spot after the famous photo of Mountbatten Windsor with Epstein strolling amicably through Central Park was published. That was the trigger for an investigation in which Virginia Giuffre revealed that the aristocrat had abused her.
In the spring of 2010, Epstein was still under house arrest in Palm Beach after serving nearly thirteen months in prison in Florida for a charge of soliciting prostitution from minors. In July, he was released, and Andrew sent him a message: "Congratulations! DS told me they let you out yesterday."
This led Andrew to invite his friend to Buckingham Palace, and in passing, the wealthy businessman suggested a meeting with a "26-year-old, Russian, intelligent, beautiful, trustworthy" woman.
From that moment on, they began to coordinate schedules and planned the visit of Prince Charles's brother (77) from November 29 to December 7 of that same year. Therefore, the businessman began to send emails to his closest assistants to ensure everything went smoothly.
"I have arranged a car and driver for your enjoyment during the week," Epstein wrote; "Thank you. I understand our offices have been in touch, and everything is organized. One last question: what kind of clothing do I need to bring? I mean, do I need something for warmth in case we go south or will it all be in New York and therefore cold?" Andrew replied.
In his last email as part of that conversation, Andrew informed him that "see you tomorrow afternoon. I am looking forward to seeing you and spending time with you after so long. There are interesting things to discuss and plan..."
Jeffrey Epstein spared no expense to ensure his royal friend was comfortable. He accommodated him on the fourth floor of his Upper East Side mansion along with his security detail, booked a luxury spa for relaxation, dined at exclusive restaurants, attended movie premieres, held various meetings with businessmen, and dined with celebrities.
For example, on the night of December 2, they shared a table with journalists Katie Couric (69) and Charlie Ross (84), director George Stephanopoulos, comedian Chelsea Handler (51), and Woody Allen (90) with his wife Soon-Yi (55).
Regarding the latter, the billionaire's publicist had doubts because he thought it could be bad publicity due to the scandal of the alleged sexual abuses by the filmmaker and his scandalous marriage to his stepdaughter. Life has its ironies!
The attendance of Julianne Moore (65), Kate Winslet (50), and Meg Ryan (64) was expected at that event, but they ultimately declined. According to The Telegraph, an email was received shortly before the dinner indicating that "Harvey Weinstein and Georgina Chapman... know Andrew." There is no photographic evidence of them, so it is assumed they did not attend.
Ironically, Weinstein (73), one of the most successful and influential producers thanks to Miramax, fell from grace after being accused in 2017 of sexual harassment and subsequently convicted to two decades in prison for rape and sexual abuse.
On the night of December 3, the main guests were supposed to be Naomi Campbell (55) and her then-partner, Russian millionaire Vladislav Doronin (63), who last year sold his Miami home for $120 million. Epstein wrote to the oligarch, "Would you and Omi -Naomi's nickname- like to come to dinner with me and Prince Andrew at Lavo tomorrow?"; "What time does dinner start? We could do 9:30 at night," Doronin replied. A representative for the supermodel stated that she never attended the event.
One of the most embarrassing images that recently came to light is that of Andrew on all fours, with his arms around a young woman lying on the floor and looking at the camera. There were more people in the financier's room.
Amidst the flurry of emails before and during the royal visit, two important businessmen who had to resign recently due to their ties with the obsessive pedophile also came to light. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem was the director of the Dubai port giant DP World and Tom Pritzker served as the executive chairman of the Hyatt hotel chain, owned by his family.
On December 7, 2010, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor concluded his New York visit and returned to London, while Epstein traveled to his ranch in New Mexico.