The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday released a large trove of investigative material relating to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who proposed to arrange a meeting between a Russian woman and the brother of King Charles III, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
In the latest batch, it released over three million pages of records, more than 2,000 videos and nearly 180,000 images.
References to the woman appear in some of the millions of pages released by the US Justice Department on Friday, including what appears to be a later exchange of information about a possible invitation to Buckingham Palace.
What did the documents reveal?
According to the documents, in an August 12, 2010 email, Epstein wrote to Andrew, calling him “Duke” and saying he had “a friend I think you might enjoy having dinner with,” noting that he would be in London from August 20 to 24, according to AFP.
Reports show that Andrew questioned what Epstein had told her about him and whether she was carrying a “message” from Epstein.
In a follow-up email, Andrew said he would be in Geneva on August 22, but added that he “would like to see her”.
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Epstein described the woman as 26 years old, Russian, smart and beautiful, noting that she already had the prince’s email address. The documents do not indicate that any meeting ever took place.
Andrew, who has consistently maintained his innocence, was stripped of all his royal titles by the king last year because of his links to Epstein.
Weeks after, the two appear to have discussed the possibility of having dinner at Buckingham Palace.
One report shows that Epstein approached Andrew on September 27, 2010, while in London, and mentioned, “What time would you like me … we’re also going to need (to) … have some private time.”
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Andrew replied that he was flying in from Scotland, adding: “We could have dinner at Buckingham Palace and lots of privacy.”
Two days later, Andrew sent another email.
“Delighted to have you here at BP (Buckingham Palace). Come with anyone and I’ll be here for free from 4pm to 2000,” he wrote.
The documents do not show whether any dinner at the palace — then the official London residence of the late Queen Elizabeth II — actually took place.
Epstein was paroled from house arrest in August 2010 after being convicted of procuring a girl under 18 into prostitution, the report said.
In an interview with the BBC in 2019, Andrew said he ended his association with the sex offender after December 2010, although court records later showed he continued to stay in touch with him.
Meanwhile, documents released last year, along with a posthumous memoir by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, who accused Andrew of sexual assault, have renewed public outrage in the UK over his links to Epstein.
The controversy eventually led to the king stripping his brother of all royal titles and honors and announcing that he would be forced to leave his 30-room residence at the royal estate of Windsor, west of London.
The former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has consistently denied sexual abuse by Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked for sex with him on three occasions, including twice when she was 17. After being sued by Giuffre, Andrew paid a multi-million dollar settlement in 2022 without admitting any wrongdoing. Giuffre, a dual US-Australian citizen, died by suicide in April at her home in Australia. Epstein died by suicide in prison on August 10, 2019.
