LONDON (AP) – Police in Scotland have initiated an investigation concerning the time former Prince Andrew spent with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, at King Charles III's Balmoral estate. The investigation, announced on Friday, follows the receipt of unidentified information, and authorities have stated that the case is at a "very early stage." Police Scotland did not elaborate on the nature of the information or any specific offenses being scrutinized.
The Daily Express, which broke the story, reported that the inquiry revolves around claims that women were allegedly trafficked to the royal estate in the Scottish Highlands. Police Scotland emphasized that "all inquiries are evidence-led, with the needs of victim survivors at the heart of those inquiries," and noted that it would be inappropriate to comment further on ongoing investigations.
Images released by the U.S. Department of Justice presented Epstein and Maxwell engaging in a shooting trip at Balmoral in 1999. These photos were drawn from millions of pages of documents published earlier this year as part of a congressional investigation into Epstein's associations with various influential figures globally, including politicians and business leaders. It is important to note that the inclusion of someone's name or image in these files does not imply wrongdoing.
Several other police forces in the U.K. are also investigating information surfaced in the Epstein documents. This includes the Metropolitan Police Service in London, Thames Valley Police, and Surrey Police. In a related incident, Thames Valley police arrested the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, on suspicion of misconduct in public office in February, based on information revealed in the Epstein files. He was detained for several hours before being released on bail pending further inquiry.
This incident marks the unprecedented arrest of a senior British royal for the first time in nearly four centuries. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any criminal activity.
The former prince's association with Epstein has posed significant challenges for the British royal family over the past 20 years. In a strategic move to protect the monarchy from the unfolding scandal, King Charles III stripped his younger brother of his princely title in late 2022 as U.S. authorities were set to disclose additional documents tied to their investigation of Epstein.
Following the removal of his title, Mountbatten-Windsor was directed to vacate the Royal Lodge, his longtime residence near Windsor Castle, and now resides in a house at Sandringham, a privately owned estate of King Charles in eastern England.
Mountbatten-Windsor's reputation has suffered considerably due to his ties with Epstein, dating back to 2008 when Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution. The situation escalated in 2011 when Virginia Giuffre alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and compelled to engage in sexual acts with Mountbatten-Windsor at the age of 17.
In an attempt to mitigate the backlash from these allegations, Mountbatten-Windsor participated in a BBC interview in 2019. However, his efforts backfired, attracting criticism for providing implausible explanations for his actions and showing a lack of empathy towards Epstein’s victims.
