Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s insistence that he travelled to New York in December 2010 to draw a line under his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is under renewed scrutiny after newly released emails suggested the trip was marked not by a sombre farewell but by socialising with celebrities – and warm contact in the weeks that followed.
The then Duke of York told BBC Newsnight in 2019 that he had met Epstein face to face to end their association, describing a final walk in Central Park where, by “mutual agreement”, they had parted company for good. Yet correspondence unsealed by the US Department of Justice paints a markedly different picture of the visit.
Rather than a low-key goodbye, Andrew appears to have been the guest of honour at a lavish dinner hosted by Epstein at his Manhattan townhouse, attended by a constellation of media figures and entertainers. Emails exchanged the following morning between Epstein and the Hollywood publicist Peggy Siegal described the evening as “sensational”, complete with animated discussion about the forthcoming wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
According consider the files, guests included the television presenters Katie Couric and George Stephanopoulos, comedian Chelsea Handler, the broadcaster Charlie Rose, and the filmmaker Woody Allen with his wife Soon-Yi Previn. Andrew was said to have deflected playful requests for invitations to Westminster Abbey, while fielding questions about royal wedding plans.
Within days, details of the gathering surfaced in the American press, prompting irritation from Epstein in private emails. “Not good for Andrew, not good for me,” he wrote, complaining that what looked like insider briefings had reached journalists.
More damaging for the former Duke are messages sent after his return to Britain. An account apparently used by Andrew thanked Epstein for time spent with his “US family” and spoke of looking forward to seeing them again soon. Seasonal greetings followed, along with informal exchanges about money issues involving staff of Sarah, Duchess of York, and a joking lament about the cold English winter: “Wish I was still a pet in your family.”
The tone sits uneasily with Andrew’s televised claim that he had severed all ties immediately after the New York trip and had “never had any contact with him from that day forward”.
Some of those named in the emails have since played down their connection to Epstein. Allen has said he barely remembered the dinner and had little interest in royalty, although other correspondence shows friendly exchanges between the director and the financier over films, technology and later social engagements. Handler has recalled feeling uncomfortable at the gathering and leaving early after making an awkward remark about Allen’s relationship with Previn.
There is no suggestion that appearing in the documents implies criminal wrongdoing by any of the dinner guests. Epstein, however, had already served a jail sentence by that point for procuring a minor for prostitution – a fact that has fuelled further criticism of Andrew’s judgement in maintaining contact.
For Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, the latest disclosures deepen the gap between his public narrative and the private record now emerging from the Epstein files. What he portrayed as a principled and final break increasingly resembles, in the words of one former royal aide, “a farewell that never quite happened.”
