On the eve of US President Donald Trump’s much-anticipated state visit to the United Kingdom, a series of dramatic events has thrust the long-simmering Jeffrey Epstein scandal back into the global spotlight—ensnaring not just Trump, but also the British royal family and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government.
It all began on the night of September 16, 2025, when activists projected a slideshow of photos showing Trump with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto a tower of Windsor Castle. According to Keystone-SDA, the projection ran for several minutes before police intervened, ultimately arresting four individuals connected to the unauthorized display. Chief Superintendent Felicity Parker told the press, “We take any unauthorized activity around Windsor Castle very seriously,” emphasizing the swift response of officers who halted the spectacle. As videos of the incident flooded social media, the message was clear: the Epstein scandal was not going to be left in the shadows during Trump’s historic second state visit to the UK.
Trump and First Lady Melania had just landed in the UK that evening, with plans to attend the official opening at Windsor Castle the next morning, meeting King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Princess Kate. Political talks were scheduled for the following day. Yet, as Keystone-SDA and other outlets noted, the timing could not have been worse. The US President, who has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities despite once being on friendly terms with him, found the controversy trailing him across the Atlantic, threatening to overshadow his diplomatic mission.
The spectacle at Windsor wasn’t the only high-profile stunt linking Trump and Epstein this week. Comedy duo The Good Liars, known for their pointed political pranks, brought the scandal to Trump’s own doorstep in Manhattan. As reported by The Daily Beast, Jason Selvig entered Trump Tower on September 16 carrying a framed copy of a 2003 birthday letter allegedly sent by Trump to Epstein—complete with a suggestive drawing outlined by a female form. Trump has denied authoring the letter, and a White House spokesperson reiterated, “This isn’t the President’s signature — and it’s not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, because Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep.” The spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, went further, accusing Democrats and the media of hypocrisy, stating, “Democrats and the media (including the Daily Beast) knew about Epstein and his victims for years and did nothing to help them while President Trump was calling for transparency, and is now delivering on it with thousands of pages of documents.”
The Good Liars’ efforts didn’t stop at the lobby stunt. Earlier in June, they distributed postcards featuring Trump and Epstein in the Trump Tower gift shop, following a Wall Street Journal report on the contents of the letter. And in a further twist, the activist group Everyone Hates Elon commissioned a massive 4,300 square-foot photograph of Trump and Epstein, displaying it on the grounds outside Windsor Castle just ahead of Trump’s arrival. The symbolism was impossible to miss: wherever Trump went, reminders of his past association with Epstein seemed to follow.
Yet, the scandal’s reach extended far beyond Trump. In a parallel crisis, Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government was rocked by revelations of Lord Peter Mandelson’s deep ties to Epstein. On September 11, just five days before Trump’s arrival, Starmer was forced to sack Mandelson from his post as UK ambassador to the US—a position he had held for less than a year—after a trove of emails and photos surfaced, highlighting the ambassador’s continued closeness with Epstein even after the latter’s 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from minors.
As detailed by Declassified UK and The Canary, the evidence included Mandelson’s presence in Epstein’s infamous “birthday book,” photographs of the two together, and a fawning message from Mandelson describing Epstein as his “best pal.” Bloomberg published 100 emails showing Mandelson urging Epstein to “fight for early release” from prison and expressing unwavering support, writing, “Your friends stay with you and love you.” The Financial Times further revealed Mandelson’s stays at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse while the financier was in jail, and their meetings in Paris after Mandelson left government.
Despite the mounting evidence, Starmer had defended Mandelson’s appointment as recently as the week before the sacking. He later claimed ignorance, stating, “Had I known then what I know now, I’d have never appointed him.” Yet, multiple news sources, including The Independent, reported that Starmer had pushed through Mandelson’s appointment despite vetting concerns from security services. An emergency debate in Parliament on September 16 questioned what the government knew about Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein and when, further fueling unrest within the Labour Party over Starmer’s leadership.
The BBC, meanwhile, came under fire for its handling of the Mandelson affair. Critics accused the broadcaster of failing to question either Mandelson or Starmer about the ambassador’s Epstein links, both before and during his tenure. When pressed, the BBC pointed to a February article referencing Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein but declined to address why the issue had not been raised more forcefully. Mandelson himself has expressed “deep regret” for ever meeting Epstein and the pain caused to his victims, but maintains he had no professional or business relationship with the disgraced financier.
The reverberations of the Epstein scandal have not spared the British royal family, either. Prince Andrew’s own friendship with Epstein has been the subject of intense scrutiny and legal action, including allegations of abuse, which the prince has consistently denied before settling a lawsuit out of court. The palace, according to diplomatic sources cited by the Daily Mail, has been “grumbling about how unhelpful it all is,” as the renewed focus on Epstein threatens to reopen old wounds and complicate the royal family’s efforts to move past previous scandals.
For Trump, the timing of these revelations is especially awkward. He had hoped his state visit would serve as a distraction from persistent questions about his own ties to Epstein. Instead, the Mandelson saga and the high-profile protests have ensured that the issue remains front and center. Trump’s legal team is currently pursuing a $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times over coverage of his relationship with Epstein and the authenticity of the 2003 birthday letter.
The broader implications of the scandal are hard to ignore. As Declassified UK and The Canary argue, the affair has become a symbol of elite impunity and the tangled web of relationships among the world’s most powerful figures. Labour MPs loyal to Starmer’s agenda are growing increasingly restless, seeing the Mandelson appointment as just the latest in a series of missteps that call Starmer’s leadership into question. For the public, the events of the past week have served as a stark reminder that, despite the best efforts of politicians and media gatekeepers, the truth has a way of surfacing—sometimes in the most dramatic and public of ways.
As Windsor Castle returns to its usual calm and the world’s attention shifts to the next news cycle, the questions raised by the Epstein scandal—and the uncomfortable connections it has exposed—are unlikely to fade any time soon.
