Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, is once again at the center of a storm swirling around his past relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A newly uncovered email, sent from Andrew’s official account on February 28, 2011, has thrown fresh doubt on his previous claims about severing ties with Epstein, raising serious questions about his credibility and the ongoing repercussions for the British royal family.
The email, first detailed by The Mail on Sunday and corroborated by multiple outlets including The Sun and the Evening Standard, was sent just one day after the infamous photograph of Andrew with then-17-year-old Virginia Giuffre was published by the Mail on Sunday. In the photo, Andrew is seen with his arm around Giuffre, who has accused the Duke of sexual abuse and claims she was trafficked by Epstein. Andrew has always denied the allegations and, while never criminally charged, settled a civil lawsuit with Giuffre in March 2022.
The contents of the email are striking. Andrew wrote to Epstein: "I'm just as concerned for you! Don't worry about me! It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it. Otherwise keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon!!!!" He signed off with the formal title, "A, HRH The Duke of York, KG"—the latter denoting his status as a Knight of the Garter, a position he still holds despite losing other royal titles and duties after the settlement with Giuffre.
This correspondence directly contradicts Andrew’s public statements, most notably his 2019 interview with Emily Maitlis on BBC Newsnight. During that interview, Andrew insisted he had cut off all contact with Epstein following a walk in New York’s Central Park in December 2010. "By mutual agreement, during that walk in the park, we decided that we would part company and I left, I think it was the next day. And to this day I never had any contact with him from that day forward," Andrew told Maitlis. Yet, the email, sent nearly three months later, proves otherwise.
The fallout from the Newsnight interview was immediate and severe. Public backlash forced Andrew to step down from royal duties, and he expressed sympathy for Epstein’s victims, stating he wanted some form of closure for them. However, with the surfacing of this email, the narrative he offered is now under intense scrutiny, and critics argue that his claims of innocence and detachment from Epstein are further undermined.
The timing of the email is also notable. It was sent mere hours after Virginia Giuffre’s allegations and the now-infamous photograph were splashed across British media. In the email, Andrew makes no mention of his theory, which he floated in the Newsnight interview, that the photograph might have been doctored. Instead, he reassures Epstein, urging him to "keep in close touch" and promising, "we'll play some more soon!!!!"—language that has disturbed royal commentators and the public alike.
Royal author Ingrid Seward told The Sun, "By getting caught in this lie, he has put one foot in the mire and slipped and got his whole body in the muck. If it was his contention that he had never met Virginia, or indeed that the infamous image was a creation, then surely he would have said something straight away?" Seward went on to describe the situation as "the point of no return for Andrew," underscoring the extent to which Epstein’s reputation continues to cast a shadow over those associated with him.
Historians and royal watchers have echoed this sentiment. A.N. Wilson, writing for The Mail on Sunday, argued that the scandal represents "a major crisis for the Monarchy…perhaps the gravest since the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936." He added, "The King and the Prince of Wales cannot be seen to support or underwrite Andrew any more. His very existence as an official Royal is a scandal. So they must cast him out, for if they show him mercy, they are themselves implicated, and we are only a hair's breadth away from a republic."
The email’s authenticity has been further established through legal filings involving Jes Staley, the former Barclays boss and a known associate of Epstein. The February 28, 2011, email was initially referenced in documents related to a case brought by the Financial Conduct Authority against Staley. At the time, the sender was described only as "a member of the British Royal Family," but subsequent reporting has confirmed Andrew’s involvement.
Andrew’s relationship with Epstein dates back to 1999, when he reportedly met the financier through Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking. Over the years, Epstein and Maxwell attended several events hosted by Andrew, including celebrations at Sandringham and Windsor Castle. Even after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for procuring underage girls, he and Maxwell remained guests at royal functions, raising further questions about the extent of their ties to the Duke of York.
The scandal has not only engulfed Andrew but has also impacted those close to him. His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, was dropped by several charities after her own correspondence with Epstein became public. The couple were also disinvited from royal Christmas celebrations, and the pressure on the royal family to distance itself from Andrew has only intensified in recent months.
The story took an even more tragic turn in April 2025, when Virginia Giuffre died by suicide at age 41. Giuffre, who became a prominent campaigner against sex trafficking, was a key figure in exposing Epstein’s network and the allegations against Andrew. Her death has reignited public debate about the treatment of Epstein’s victims and the accountability of those in power.
Epstein himself was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges—a death ruled as suicide. Maxwell remains imprisoned, and the ripple effects of their criminal enterprise continue to unsettle the worlds of finance, politics, and royalty.
As of now, Prince Andrew and Buckingham Palace have declined to comment on the latest revelations. The mounting evidence, however, paints a stark picture: the Duke’s efforts to distance himself from Epstein have been systematically undermined by his own words and actions. For many observers, the email marks an irreversible breach of trust and signals a new, perhaps final, chapter in Andrew’s public life.
The royal family now faces a dilemma with no easy answers, as the consequences of past associations and present denials threaten to reshape the monarchy’s future in unpredictable ways.
