Fresh court documents released in the United States suggest that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor attended an intimate gathering with Jeffrey Epstein in New York months after the disgraced financier had been released from prison for sex offences.
The material forms part of a newly published tranche of files issued by the US Department of Justice on Friday, adding further detail to the former prince’s continued association with Epstein following his 2009 conviction.
Among the documents are emails sent by the Hollywood publicist Peggy Siegal, who appears to have organised what she described as a “last-minute casual dinner” in December 2010 while Mountbatten-Windsor was visiting New York on what was characterised as an unofficial private trip.
The correspondence indicates that the dinner was arranged at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, where Mountbatten-Windsor was staying during the visit. At the time, he later claimed, the purpose of the trip was to formally end his relationship with the financier.
The visit nonetheless drew intense scrutiny after photographs emerged of the pair walking together in Central Park, undermining claims that the relationship had been severed.
In his widely criticised BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, Mountbatten-Windsor said he had chosen to confront Epstein in person rather than by telephone, remarking that ending the friendship remotely would have been “the chicken’s way of doing it”.
However, the newly released emails suggest that social engagements continued during the trip. Siegal circulated a proposed guest list for what she described as a “very interesting, fast, fun dinner”, inviting a number of prominent figures from politics, journalism and entertainment.
Those contacted included the film director Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi Previn; the political strategist George Stephanopoulos and his wife, the actor Alexandra Wentworth; the broadcaster Katie Couric; and the television presenter Charlie Rose. It remains unclear who ultimately attended, though the correspondence indicates that Wentworth withdrew because her children were ill.
In one message, Siegal wrote to Stephanopoulos: “Come on time and you will have private time with Andrew as he is staying at the house.”
Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking but died by suicide in prison before standing trial.
Mountbatten-Windsor has since withdrawn from public royal duties and no longer uses his HRH style, following sustained controversy over his links to Epstein. In 2022, he reached a reported £12 million settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that she was trafficked to him by Epstein when she was 17. He has consistently denied the allegations and made the payment without admitting liability.
Ms Giuffre died last year.
The document release also includes emails sent by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, to an account believed by investigators to have belonged to Mountbatten-Windsor.
In one message dated March 2002, Maxwell offered condolences following the death of the Queen Mother, writing: “Sweet pea — sorry you had to rush home, and also under such sad circumstances.”
She added: “She was wonderful, and I am happy that I managed to meet her and speak with her. We shall reschedule. Love you. Gx.”
A reply sent the following day from the same address – signed “The Invisible Man” – read: “Got your message this morning. Sorry to have missed you yesterday. I will ring later today to chat. A xxx.”
Other emails attributed to the account include light-hearted exchanges, including one in which the sender jokingly referred to an acquaintance as “super sperm” in reference to having more children.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in the United States after being convicted in 2022 of child sex trafficking offences connected to Epstein.
The latest disclosures reinforce the extent of the relationship between Epstein, Maxwell and Mountbatten-Windsor, who is alleged to have maintained contact with the financier even after his earlier conviction and prison sentence in 2008.
Buckingham Palace has previously confirmed that Andrew’s royal titles were removed amid the continuing fallout from his association with Epstein – a relationship that remains the most damaging scandal to engulf the modern monarchy.
