Thread by @MesMitch

Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein: what you need to know

How did Jeffrey Epstein meet the Duke of York?
Prince Andrew said in his interview with BBC Newsnight last month he met Epstein in 1999, through Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Maxwell, the socialite daughter of the disgraced press baron Robert Maxwell, has been accused by a number of women of being complicit with Epstein in sex trafficking and abuse and, in some cases, partaking in it. She has denied all allegations against her.

How close were Andrew and Epstein?
Prince Andrew says he and Epstein were “not that close”.

However, the pair attended several private dinners, parties and fundraisers together, including a birthday party the prince threw for Maxwell at Sandringham House,

the private residence of the Queen, in 2000. The same year, Epstein and the prince partied with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Palm Beach, Florida.The following year, Andrew and Epstein went on holiday together and were pictured on a yacht in Phuket

How significant is Andrew’s relationship with Maxwell?
Prince Andrew is alleged to have had sex with Virginia Roberts Giuffre for the first time at Maxwell’s London home.The prince and Maxwell are known to have been together at least a dozen times between 1999 and 2001.

Is it possible Andrew did not meet accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, as he claims?
Andrew claims to have “no recollection” of meeting Roberts Giuffre, despite being pictured with his arm around her in a now notorious photograph said to have been taken by Epstein.

Two men who say they saw the original picture say it is genuine, but friends of Andrew told the London Evening Standard they thought it was fake, claiming Andrew’s fingers are “much chubbier” in real life.

How many times does Roberts Giuffre allege she and Andrew had sex?
Three times.

What is Andrew’s response to the first alleged incident with Roberts Giuffre, in London on 10 March 2001?
Roberts Giuffre claims she was first trafficked by Epstein to have sex with the prince in Maxwell’s London home after dancing with him at Tramp nightclub.

What about the second alleged incident?
Roberts Giuffre alleges she had sex with Andrew a second time at Epstein’s New York mansion, while she was Epstein’s “sex slave”. Andrew says this cannot be true because he was busy on official duties.

However, a former aide told the Telegraph Andrew had “gaps” in his diary and was allegedly unaccompanied for several hours in New York at a time when Roberts Giuffre was in the US and says they had sex.

And the third alleged incident on Epstein’s Island, Little St James?
In evidence to a Florida court in 2015, Roberts Giuffre wrote: “The third time I had sex with Andy was in an orgy on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands.

“I was around 18 at the time. Epstein, Andy, approximately eight other young girls, and I had sex together. The other girls all seemed and appeared to be under the age of 18 and didn’t really speak English.”

Are there other allegations?
Johanna Sjoberg claims Prince Andrew fondled her breast at Epstein’s New York home on the same night as Roberts Giuffre’s second allegation, when she was 21. The prince has denied any sexual contact with Sjoberg.

In a defamation suit filed against Maxwell by Roberts Giuffre in 2015, Sjoberg says she, Roberts Giuffre and another female were invited to sit on Andrew’s lap to pose for a photo with him and his Spitting Image puppet.

She said: “Virginia … sat on a chair and had the puppet on her lap. Andrew sat on another chair, I sat on his lap – and he put his hand on my breast. Ghislaine put the puppet’s hand on Virginia’s breast, then Andrew put his hand on mine. It was a great joke.”

What do others say who witnessed Andrew and Epstein together?
Prince Andrew was seen inside the New York home of Epstein getting a foot massage from a young woman, according to emails between a literary agent, John Brockman, and author Evgeny Morozov.

Brockman is reported to have said: “Last time I visited his house, I walked in to find him in a sweatsuit and a British guy in a suit with suspenders [braces], getting foot massages from two young well-dressed Russian women.”

What can we learn from Epstein’s flight logs?
Prince Andrew flew on Epstein’s private plane at least four times, once to Edinburgh, once to the Virgin Islands and twice to Palm Beach.

Six weeks after Epstein was arrested for sex offences on 1 September 2006, the prince flew from London Luton to Edinburgh on Epstein’s plane with Maxwell.

How does Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, fit into all this?
In December 2010, the Duchess of York was given £15,000 by Epstein to help pay off her debts, just 18 months after he was released from jail for soliciting prostitution from underage girls.

What now for Andrew?
The prince has stepped down from official duties.

Five Epstein accusers want him to give evidence in US courts, saying he must talk to the FBI. Their lawyer, David Boies, claims Andrew witnessed men being given massages at the financier’s homes.