Prince Andrew faces fresh outrage over his friendship with the deceased billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after his name has appeared in legal documents unsealed by a New York judge on Wednesday relating to a 2015 lawsuit filed by Epstein victim, Virginia Giuffre.
The documents list associates, employees and friends of Epstein, with former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump also included among them.
Andrew has faced repeated criticism in recent years for his association with Epstein and for allegations of sexual assault made against him by Giuffre.
In 2019, the prince took part in a car crash interview with the BBC in which he failed to justify maintaining a relationship with Epstein after he had been convicted as a sex offender. The prince also made attempts to discredit Giuffre and her claims against him.
The fallout from the interview led Andrew to step down from his public role within the monarchy. He was stripped of his military patronages and titles after Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit against him in 2021 over her claims he sexually assaulted her.
The prince continues to strongly deny the allegations and settled the lawsuit out of court in 2022 for an undisclosed sum.
Since his forced retirement from public life, how the royal family have handled Andrew has been a regular subject for media reporting and speculation.
In 2022, when Queen Elizabeth II walked into her husband, Prince Philip's, memorial service at Westminster Abbey on Andrew's arm, it sparked outrage and earned the aging monarch a rare wave of criticism for poor judgment.
Since then, the prince has attended major royal ceremonies, such as the state funeral of his mother and coronation of his brother King Charles, but has not returned to any official role.
No senior working royal has commented publicly about Andrew or his continued embroilment in the Epstein scandal, however, his nephew, Prince Harry, made a rare reference to the allegation of "sex crimes" in his 2023 memoir Spare.
Uncle Andrew's 'Shameful Scandal'
In 2021, publishers Penguin Random House announced that it had contracted Prince Harry to write a memoir, something he said he would do "not as the prince I was born, but as the man I have become."
Following this news, speculation grew as to whether the prince would use the book to settle scores with his family amid the royal rift that saw himself and wife, Meghan Markle, split from the monarchy and move to the U.S.
When Spare was finally published in January 2023, it contained a number of references to members of the royal family and various experiences Harry had with them over the course of his life.
One member of the family whose dramatic life events were referenced was Prince Andrew.
Discussed in the context of a conversation with Meghan about the prospect of their state-funded security being removed by the government after they stepped down as working royals (something that did happen in 2020), Harry told readers that he didn't believe it to be up for discussion considering his uncle kept his security after retiring from public life.
"He was embroiled in a shameful scandal, accused of the sexual assault of a young woman, and no one had so much as suggested that he lose his security," Harry wrote. "Whatever grievances people had against us, sex crimes weren't on the list."
Prince Harry in Spare
"Meg asked me one night: 'You don't think they'd ever pull our security, do you?'
"'Never. Not in this climate of hate. And not after what happened to my mother.'
"Also, not in the wake of my Uncle Andrew. He was embroiled in a shameful scandal, accused of the sexual assault of a young woman, and no one had so much as suggested that he lose his security. Whatever grievances people had against us, sex crimes weren't on the list."
Andrew's security arrangements have been heavily debated in Britain in the years since he stepped down from his working role within the monarchy.
Apart from this inclusion, Harry has not spoken on the record about his uncle's involvement in the Epstein scandal in his official interviews or media projects.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
