A second woman has alleged that she was sent to the United Kingdom by Jeffrey Epstein for a sexual encounter with Prince Andrew, according to her lawyer in an interview with the BBC. The allegation relates to an incident said to have taken place in 2010 at Royal Lodge and is the first time an Epstein survivor has claimed that a sexual encounter occurred at a royal residence.
Allegation relating to Royal Lodge in 2010
The woman, who is not British and was in her 20s at the time, alleges that the encounter took place at Royal Lodge, the former prince’s residence, in 2010.
Her lawyer, Brad Edwards of the US law firm Edwards Henderson, told the BBC that his client says she spent the night with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and was later given a tour of Buckingham Palace and tea.
“We’re talking about at least one woman who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew. And she even had, after a night with Prince Andrew, a tour of Buckingham Palace,” Mr Edwards said.
Response and corroboration efforts
BBC News has asked Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for comment, but he has not responded to the allegations. Buckingham Palace routinely records the names of tour guests. However, the BBC said it has not been possible to corroborate the woman’s visit without revealing her identity.
The account of an overnight stay at Royal Lodge marks the first allegation by an Epstein survivor that a sexual encounter occurred at a royal residence.
Lawyer’s representation of Epstein survivors
Mr Edwards represents more than 200 Epstein survivors worldwide. He also represented Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that she was brought to London to have sex with the former prince in 2001 when she was 17.
Ms Giuffre further alleged that she was forced to have sex with Andrew on two additional occasions between 2001 and 2002, once in New York and once on Epstein’s private Caribbean island. Andrew has always denied her claims.
Background on Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl in Florida and completed his sentence in July 2010.
A BBC investigation later found that Epstein had trafficked a number of women into the UK using commercial flights and his private jets.
Legal contacts and loss of titles
Mr Edwards, who is based in Florida, told the BBC that there were communications between his client and the former prince prior to the alleged encounter. He said he had been in contact with “certain legal counsel” representing Andrew in the United States, but added that Andrew had “seemingly been disconnected from his lawyers”. According to Mr Edwards, communication ceased after King Charles formally removed Andrew’s “style, title and honours”.
Andrew was stripped of his royal titles in October last year following the publication of Ms Giuffre’s posthumous memoir. It was also announced that he would leave Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate, where he had lived since 2004. In a statement announcing the removal of the former prince’s titles, Buckingham Palace said: “These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”
Potential civil action
Mr Edwards said that the removal of Andrew’s titles has allowed the former prince to maintain that he has no financial means to provide compensation, which he said has caused further harm to alleged victims. “So the idea that the Royal Family so far cares about the victims, wanted to make things right, what they have done by simply stripping Prince Andrew of his titles and nothing more, has had the exact opposite effect of what they claim they are trying to do,” he said.
The lawyer added that he is now considering filing a civil lawsuit in the United States on behalf of the woman against the former prince. Ms Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit against Andrew in the US in 2021, which was settled in February 2022 for an estimated £12 million. She died last year.
Source: bbc