An association with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein spanning more than two decades has cost Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor his royal titles and status, and shredded his reputation. On Thursday he suffered a new consequence: arrest over suspicion of misconduct while in public office.
According to Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor, he first met Mr. Epstein in 1999 through Ghislaine Maxwell, then the disgraced financier’s girlfriend and a well-connected Briton and daughter of the media tycoon Robert Maxwell.
In 2000 Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Epstein attended a party at Windsor Castle hosted by Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate the 40th birthday of Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew. That was one of a number of documented meetings between Mr. Epstein and Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor, who served as a British trade envoy from 2001 to 2011.
It was in 2001 and 2002 that, according to allegations later made by Virginia Giuffre, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor forced her to have sex with him. He has always denied claims of wrongdoing.
In 2008 Mr. Epstein was jailed after pleading guilty in Florida to a charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution. He was released the next year but kept for a time under house arrest.
In 2010 Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor and Mr. Epstein were photographed walking in Central Park in New York City. The former prince was later to claim that the meeting was to end the friendship and that he wanted do so in person.
In 2015 Ms. Giuffre said in papers filed in Florida for a civil case that she was forced to have sex with the former prince on three occasions — in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by Mr. Epstein — between 2001 and 2002 — including when she was 17, underage under Florida law.
The scandal continued to swirl and, in 2019, Mr. Epstein was arrested in New York on sex trafficking charges and died in jail. The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.
Later that year Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor spoke to the BBC’s Newsnight program, claiming he had no recollection of a photo being taken of him and Ms. Giuffre in which his arm is around her waist.
The interview backfired, and within days Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor announced he was stepping back from royal duties.
In 2021 Ms. Giuffre filed a civil case against the former prince that was settled the next year.
Ms. Giuffre died by suicide in 2025. Her posthumous memoir portrayed Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor’s behavior in a damning light.
Later that year, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor said he would surrender the use of his title, the Duke of York, after discussing the matter with his elder brother, King Charles III. Early this year, he moved out of his mansion in Windsor.
The most recent batch of documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice from the Epstein files included photos of Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor appearing to kneel over an unknown woman lying on the floor.
The files also appear to show that while he was a trade envoy, he forwarded sensitive government documents and commercial information to Mr. Epstein — the apparent reason for his arrest on Thursday.
Stephen Castle is a London correspondent of The Times, writing widely about Britain, its politics and the country’s relationship with Europe.
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