The Duke and the girl (Image: PA)
Pressure is growing on King Charles to remove all remaining royal links to his brother Prince Andrew after a leaked email to his paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein declared they were “in this together”. The damning missive from the Duke of York came the day after a photograph of him alongside sex trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre was published. Andrew also told the disgraced financier to “keep in touch” despite his conviction for a string of sickening child sex offences.
The full leaked email, dated Feb 28 2011, appears to undermine the Duke’s position in his infamous BBC Newsnight interview in which he claimed he had stopped contacting the billionaire financier in December 2010 after they were pictured in Central Park, New York. He said that he had taken the step “after I was aware that he was under investigation and that was later in 2006 and I wasn’t in touch with him again until 2010”.
Epstein & Andrew (Image: -)
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In the email, reported by The Sun and The Mail on Sunday, the Duke of York said: “I’m just as concerned for you! Don’t worry about me!
“It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it. Otherwise keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!” He reportedly signed off the message with: “A, HRH The Duke of York, KG.”
KG refers to his title of Knight of the Garter, which the King’s brother has held since 2006 and still continues to hold.
It is claimed that the email address for the disgraced financier was confirmed within his official records and it is said that the email for the Duke had also been verified.
Renowned historian AN Wilson described the Duke’s conduct as a “major crisis for the monarchy – perhaps the gravest since the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936.”
He said: “The King and the Prince of Wales cannot be seen to support or underwrite Andrew anymore.
The not so grand Duke of York (Image: PA)
“His very existence as an official royal is a scandal. So they must cast him out, for if they show him mercy, they are themselves implicated, and we are only a hair’s breadth away from a republic.”
It is claimed the email exchange came in the wake of the picture being released in the publication of the Duke with his arm around Virginia Giuffre, who was 17, in the London home of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.
Ms Giuffre at the time said she had suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Epstein for four years. Her introduction to Andrew took place on a six-week trip to Europe.
Ms Giuffre said following tea at Ms Maxwell’s mews home they headed to Tramp nightclub in Mayfair.
She said: “Ghislaine served tea from a porcelain pot and biscuits. She knew Sarah Ferguson and they talked fondly about Andrew’s daughters.
“Then Ghislaine asked Andrew how old he thought I was and he guessed 17 and they all laughed. Ghislaine made a joke that I was getting too old for Jeffrey. She said, ‘He’ll soon have to trade her in’.”
Undated handout photo issued by the US Department of Justice (left-right) of the Duke of York, Virgi (Image: PA)
Royal author Ingrid Seward told The Sun: “I’m afraid this looks very, very bad for Andrew. It’s a small but hugely damning email. By getting caught in this lie, he has put one foot in the mire and slipped and got his whole body in the muck.
“If it was his contention that he had never met Virginia, or indeed that the infamous image was a creation, then surely he would have said something straight away?” She added: “This is the point of no return for Andrew. The lifeless tentacles of Epstein’s reputation are ruinous to many people and I can’t see a way back from this.”
The Duke has categorically denied claims made by Ms Giuffre and in the Panorama interview told broadcaster Emily Maitlis that the London encounter with Virginia “never happened”.
He added that the picture with Ms Giuffre could have been forged and added: “Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored but I don’t recollect that photograph ever being taken.”
The Duke paid a financial settlement to end a civil case brought against him in the US according to court documents, which was reportedly more than £12m in February 2022. He did not accept liability.
The Treasury, in response to a Freedom of Information request, at the time said: “No public money has been used to pay legal or settlement fees.”
Ms Giuffre died by suicide on April 25 2025, at her home in Western Australia at the age of 41.
The report comes weeks after at least seven charities have dropped the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, as a patron or ambassador after an email dating back 2011 claimed she called disgraced Epstein her “supreme friend” and she appeared to apologise for her public criticism of him.
“This email was sent in the context of advice the Duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats,” said a statement from her spokesman.
Peter Mandelson was also sacked from his role as Britain’s ambassador to the US during September following supportive messages to Epstein.
The emails reportedly also show the two men discussing commercial ideas and UK and US policy at a time when Lord Mandelson was business secretary.