Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew’s friendship: A comprehensive timeline

New evidence could come to light any day revealing if Prince Andrew, Duke of York, participated in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring. According to victims like Virginia Roberts-Guiffre, he did. Per an informant, Jeffrey Epstein videotaped the rich & powerful he invited into his sex trafficking ring and used the tapes for blackmail. 

Ghislaine Maxwell, who is awaiting trial for her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s pedophilia ring, may also offer information about Prince Andrew to cut a plea deal with prosecutors. If her information is enough for an arrest & conviction of someone as powerful as Prince Andrew, she may receive a much lighter sentence than the forty years she faces. 

While we await either a plea deal or more statements from either prince Andrew or Ghislaine Maxwell, you may wonder how Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew became friends. Here’s the timeline of Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship. 

Early 1990s: Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew meet

Jeffrey Epstein met Prince Andrew in the early 1990s. Although Epstein said it was a chance meeting at a jewelry store, other reports say Ghislaine Maxwell introduced the two. According to Prince Andrew, he knew Ghislaine Maxwell from their time together at Oxford, and his friendship with Epstein was primarily through her. 

Maxwell’s father, Robert Maxwell, was a media mogul and owned a number of European magazines like The Daily Mirror. She reportedly met Prince Andrew as a student at Oxford, getting her start as a socialite among the UK’s rich & famous. 

1992: Prince Andrew separates from Sarah Ferguson

Around the same time Prince Andrew met Jeffrey Epstein, British tabloids revealed that Prince Andrew’s wife, Sarah Ferguson, was having affairs with American multimillionaires. Her loves included an oil tycoon and an American financier. The latter was pictured sucking her toes in an infamous paparazzi photo. 

It’s unclear if there’s a direct connection between Prince Andrew’s separation and his introduction to Jeffrey Epstein. However, it happened around the same time as Sarah Ferguson’s affairs. Prince Andrew’s separation from Fergie could provide some context as to why he was interested in socializing with rich American financiers. 

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson reconciled later in 1992 but divorced in 1996. 

William Steel 

William Steel was a high-end jewelry thief who told reporters that Epstein hired him at gunpoint to take videos of rich & powerful people having sex with Epstein’s underage girls. Epstein would use the footage to blackmail them into “favors.” Steel didn’t mention Prince Andrew by name, but Epstein bragged about “owning a royal” to him. 

William Steel never mentioned if Prince Andrew was the royal Jeffrey Epstein referred to. Steel himself would videotape Epstein’s “clients” using Epstein’s security cameras. However, Steel only mentioned that he filmed a young musician and a U.S. politician. 

Late 1990s: Lolita Express

Jeffrey Epstein flew his friends & associates on his private jet to various locations. Dubbed Lolita Express, Epstein’s jet notoriously took his friends to his private residences where Epstein’s sex trafficking victims would be held. 

Court records show that Prince Andrew flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet. His name also appears in Epstein’s little black book. Recently, it was revealed that Prince Andrew wasn’t the only royal in Epstein’s book. His cousin, David Linley, also flew with Epstein. 

Mid-2000s: Virginia Roberts-Guiffre’s allegations

Virginia Roberts-Guiffre was sex-trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein in the mid-2000s. She says Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her three times, including when they were staying at Ghislaine Maxwell’s property in London. Prince Andrew denies Robers-Guiffre’s claims and Buckingham Palace issued a statement denying them, too. 

2010: Ending Prince Andrew’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein? 

In 2010, Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein were photographed together at Epstein’s New York mansion. This was two years after Jeffrey Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution. 

According to a BBC interview with Prince Andrew, he went there to officially end his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. He stayed for four days at Epstein’s mansion to say goodbye. When the interviewer brought up that the long stay was suspicious, Prince Andrew said it was convenient for him to stay with Epstein. 

2017 – 2019: Reduction of royal duties

When Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes came to light again, the spotlight was shone on his former friendship with Prince Andrew. Although Buckingham Palace stood by the prince, Prince Andrew stepped away from his royal duties amid the scandal. 

Further, the contract for Prince Andrew’s website was not renewed. While the official story is that the contract ran out, some speculate that the Royal Family is preparing to distance themselves further from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. 

2020: Will Prince Andrew testify? 

In the beginning, Prince Andrew claimed he was more than willing to testify in Jeffrey Epstein’s trial. After Epstein died by apparent suicide in 2019, federal authorities approached Prince Andrew about cooperating in Ghislaine Maxwell’s case. So far, Prince Andrew hasn’t come forward despite urgings from MPs.