Buckingham Palace Stays Silent as Prince Andrew Is Mentioned in Epstein Documents

After last January saw the release of Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare, the British monarchy might have hoped that this year would get off to an easier start. But a much more serious problem has come back to cause controversy at the start of 2024 as Prince Andrew’s dealings with Jeffrey Epstein are back in the spotlight.

The Duke of York was named in a tranche of legal documents which were unsealed this week and identify scores of people who became tangled in Epstein’s murky web. In a testimony from Epstein victim Johanna Sjoberg, the Prince is accused of putting his hand on her breast at Epstein’s New York Town House in 2001. While her story has been shared before, as is the case with most of the information in the files, the renewed discussion about the accusations leveled against the Prince are a reminder that this did not go away for him when he settled a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre in 2022.

Buckingham Palace has not commented since the release of the files. The Palace has not represented Andrew officially since he stepped back as a working royal in 2019 soon after his disastrous television interview about Epstein. At that time it was made clear that he would have his own spokesperson and legal team. However, statements relating to him have still been necessary from the Palace when the scandal has been reignited in the past. When a judge ruled that Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit against him could proceed in January 2022, Buckingham Palace announced that all of his military affiliations and patronages would be returned to the Queen.

As the King’s brother, Prince Andrew is still part of the family, and this was emphasized at Christmas time when he joined the royals on their walk to church on Christmas morning. For the first time in decades, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson was also invited, sending a message that the Yorks are far from out in the cold. Andrew also continues to live in Windsor royal residence Royal Lodge, a subject which continues to spark controversy.

Several statements that Buckingham Palace has made on Prince Andrew’s behalf over the years denying allegations against him have been included in reporting this week. In 2015, they released a strongly-worded statement denying claims made in court documents by Virginia Giuffre. The Palace said that he “emphatically denied” he had “any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts,” as she was then known.

Since the court files were unsealed, anti-monarchy group Republic has announced they have reported the Prince to the Metropolitan Police. "I am calling on the Met police to re-open this case, I am calling on MPs to debate this affair in parliament, and I am calling on Charles to make a public statement—in front of the press and taking questions—to respond to these allegations and what they say about the monarchy,” Republic’s CEO Graham Smith said in a statement.

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