Prince Andrew and Epstein: Is the queen attempting damage control?

Now, the Queen is involved. A lot of information surfaced over this summer about Prince Andrew’s reluctance to cooperate with U.S. authorities. Of course, this related to his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew’s lack of cooperation reached a point where his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, wants a word. 

Prince Andrew has been to visit Queen Elizabeth for “crisis talks” while she’s staying at Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands, according to The Week. According to a royal source close to the House of Windsor, “the Queen and Andrew will have lots to discuss.” 

“So much has come out over the summer. The Queen wants to be kept informed and she will not be back at Windsor until early October,” the source elaborated to The Sun. Understandably, The Queen wants no surprises as the case unfolds. Here’s what we know so far about allegations against Prince Andrew. 

Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew

Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein were introduced to each other in the 1990s by their mutual friend Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell attended Oxford University with Prince Andrew and was Epstein’s former girlfriend. Currently, she’s awaiting trial for charges in connection with Epstein’s sex trafficking ring. 

Prince Andrew & Jeffrey Epstein were close friends, with Prince Andrew’s name appearing several times on Epstein’s flight manifest. However, in 2010, Prince Andrew ended the friendship after Epstein was charged & pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor. 

The media questioned why Prince Andrew stayed in Epstein’s house for four days in 2010 after the conviction. Prince Andrew responded in a BBC interview that he was photographed with Epstein in New York while he was ending the friendship. 

Allegations against Prince Andrew

However, there are allegations against Prince Andrew connected to Jeffrey Epstein. Virginia Roberts-Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, accused Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting her three times. A piece of information that came out this summer concerned Prince Andrew molesting her with a puppet in his likeness. 

Both Prince Andrew & Buckingham Palace categorically denied Virginia Roberts-Giuffre’s allegations. However, Prince Andrew has stepped down from royal duties amid the Epstein reports and didn’t appear in public photos of his daughter Beatrice’s wedding last summer. 

Cooperation with the FBI

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI asked Prince Andrew for his cooperation during their investigation into Jeffrey Epstein after his apparent suicide in August 2019. While Prince Andrew & his legal team maintain that they’ve offered to cooperate “numerous times”, the FBI says they haven’t. 

The FBI went so far as to reach out to Scotland Yard to make arrangements in case they want to compel Prince Andrew to testify. They submitted a request for Prince Andrew to answer their question to the Home Office in April. 

Damage control? 

Queen Elizabeth II won’t be back in Windsor until October. This will give her plenty of time to think about the situation, including what the media’s reporting and what Prince Andrew told her. 

Granted, this isn’t the first time this year that Queen Elizabeth II has had to do damage control. When Prince Harry & Meghan Markle stepped away from royal life, the Royal Family had a field day with media reports. They stepped away for more innocent reasons, asserting that they wanted to escape the press & give their son a normal life. 

This also isn’t the first time ever in Queen Elizabeth’s 65 years as the UK’s monarch that she’s done damage control. After a string of public affairs and the burning of her childhood castle, Queen Elizabeth declared 1992 an “annus horribilis,” determining that future royals wouldn’t look back fondly on that year. 

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Do you think Queen Elizabeth II will declare 2020 to be another “annus horribilis?” On top of Megxit, the Prince Andrew scandal, and COVID-19, we wouldn’t be surprised. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!