Updated ,first published
London: Pressure is mounting on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to appear before a US Congressional inquiry into Jeffrey Epstein after the release of photographs showing him on top of a woman linked to the convicted sex offender.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined calls for the former prince to testify to Congress about what he saw during his friendship with Epstein and their mutual friend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now in prison after she was convicted of trafficking girls for sex.
Meanwhile, a second woman has alleged she was sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Mountbatten-Windsor, the BBC has reported. The encounter allegedly took place at the former prince’s residence, Royal Lodge, in 2010, her lawyer told the broadcaster.
The BBC said it had approached Mountbatten-Windsor for comment.
Starmer’s intervention came after the US Department of Justice released documents with new details about Epstein and Andrew’s friendship, including the photographs and a message in which Epstein offered to introduce Mountbatten-Windsor to a “beautiful, trustworthy” young Russian woman.
Members of the Congressional inquiry wrote to Mountbatten-Windsor last November, soon after he lost his royal honours, to ask him to sit for an official interview to assist their investigation and help survivors.
Starmer backed that request when asked about the scandal by British journalists in Tokyo, where the prime minister is concluding a visit to Asia.
“Anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that,” Starmer said.
“You can’t be victim-centred if you’re not prepared to do that. Epstein’s victims have to be the first priority.”
Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to his friendship with Epstein.
The fresh batch of documents from years of Department of Justice investigations features emails between Epstein and an account known as “The Duke” about arranging a dinner with the Russian woman.
“I have a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with,” Epstein wrote to the Duke in August 2010.
His friend replied: “Of course. I am in Geneva until the morning of 22nd but would be delighted to see her.
“Will she be bringing a message from you? Please give her my contact details to get in touch.”
Epstein responded, with spelling and typographical errors: “She 26, russian, clevere beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email.”
The email from the Duke was signed “A”. Mountbatten-Windsor was the Duke of York before he lost his royal honours over the Epstein scandal.
While the Department of Justice had previously released documents showing Mountbatten-Windsor was in friendly contact with Epstein after the US financier had been convicted in 2008 for soliciting a minor for sex, the new documents highlight more of their friendship after Epstein emerged from prison in July 2010.
Mountbatten-Windsor told the BBC in 2019 that he went to see Epstein in New York in December 2010 to end their relationship, but the latest emails to be released showed no concern about the friendship in August 2010.
At one point in the exchange, “A” asked Epstein: “How are you? Good to be free?”
Clintons in the firing line
The Congressional inquiry is run by the House Oversight Committee and has turned its sights on several high-profile figures at public hearings, while calling on former US president Bill Clinton and his wife, former US secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary, to testify.
When the Clintons declined to appear, the committee voted to hold them in contempt of Congress.
The committee has a Republican majority. The letter to Mountbatten-Windsor asking him to appear was signed by 16 Democrats, but not by any of the Republicans.
The photographs of Mountbatten-Windsor and the woman, whose face is blacked out and who has not been identified, were not previously released by the Department of Justice.
There are three photographs of the former prince in the newly released file, all showing a woman lying on the floor in a white top and black pants. One shows him on all fours over the woman, a second shows him with his hands on the woman’s stomach, and a third shows him with his hand on her hip.
According to the BBC, the background of the photos appears to match the interior of Jeffrey Epstein’s New York City mansion.
Mountbatten-Windsor has said in the past he wanted to help the survivors of sexual abuse, a stance he repeated when he settled a claim against him by one of Epstein’s survivors, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who died by suicide in Western Australia last year.
In November 2019, when he stepped back from royal duties, he said: “Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.”
In early 2022, when he settled the civil case with Roberts Giuffre, his lawyers issued a statement saying he commended the bravery of survivors, adding: “He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.”
One of the survivors of Epstein’s abuse, Annie Farmer, called last October for Mountbatten-Windsor to reveal what he knew.
“If he wants to do right by Virginia and the rest of us, he could do something different and say: ‘I have information I want to share because I believe it could be helpful’,” she told the BBC.
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David Crowe is Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
