Prince Andrew breaks cover for first time after being hit by Jeffrey Epstein allegations
Prince Andrew has been pictured driving his Range Rover on the Windsor Estate for the first time since the Jeffrey Epstein documents were released.
Prince Andrew has been pictured leaving his home, Royal Lodge on the Windsor Estate, just hours after a victim of Jeffrey Epstein has claimed sex tapes were taken of the Duke of York and former US president Bill Clinton.
Driving his green Range Rover alone, Andrew looked forlorn as his former friendship with Epstein returns to the spotlight.
It marks the first time he has been pictured since the release of the Epstein court papers last week as insiders say he was preferring to "lock himself away" following the release of the documents, which saw him named repeatedly.
The release of the files is understood to have strengthened King Charles's resolve to evict Andrew from his mansion. The monarch has been keen to ensure his brother downsizes from the 30-room property for some time, and the latest revelations have prompted him to hasten the plans.
But Andrew is determined to hold on to his home, where he has lived with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson for over two decades.
Yesterday Sarah Ransome, a victim of Jeffrey Epstein, claimed that the Duke of York, former US President Bill Clinton and billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson were filmed in sex tapes by the paedophile financier. A US judge ordered hundreds of documents to be unsealed as part of Ms Guiffre's previously settled civil claim against Maxwell, which was filed in 2015.
A number of famous names have appeared in documents so far, including Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Sir Richard Branson and David Copperfield. However, the naming of individuals in these documents does not necessarily indicate any wrongdoing or implicate them in Epstein's crimes.
Ransome, who gave a victim impact statement during Ghislaine Maxwell's sex-trafficking trial, appeared to write communications making the allegations about the sex tapes.
However, a New Yorker article, released in 2019, reported Ms Ransome admitted "she had invented the tapes to draw attention to Epstein's behaviour, and to make him believe that she had 'evidence that would come out if he harmed me'".
A firm representing Epstein's lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, highlighted these extracts argue that Ransome "manifestly lacks credibility".
Last week Andrew was reported to the Met Police over resurfaced allegations of the sexual abuse of a 17-year-old girl in London which emerged in the court documents.
The 2014 court filing claims one of Epstein's alleged sex slaves, known as Jane Doe 3, claimed she was ordered to have intercourse with Prince Andrew during an orgy on Epstein's private island, Little Saint James, in the US Virgin Islands.
The documents - part of the 2015 lawsuit filed against G Maxwell by Virgina Giuffre - allege Jane Doe 3 was "forced to have sexual relations with this Prince when she was a minor in three separate geographical locations".
She alleged these happened "in London - at Ghislaine Maxwell's apartment -, in New York, and on Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands (in an orgy with numerous other under-aged girls)".
The newly unsealed documents claim Epstein, who died in jail aged 66 while awaiting trial in 2019, told Jane Doe 3 to "give the Prince whatever he demanded". Jane Doe 3 claimed Ghislaine Maxwell "facilitated Prince Andrew's acts of sexual abuse by acting as a 'madame' for Epstein'".
The duke has repeatedly denied the accusations and said he has no memory of meeting her. Buckingham Palace previously said the allegations are "categorically untrue".
Prince Andrew withdrew from public life amid the furore over his friendship with Epstein and paid millions to settle a US civil sexual assault case to Ms Giuffre, a woman he claimed never to have met. The settlement did not include any admission of liability
Virgin Group have said the allegations surrounding Sir Richard Branson are "false, baseless and unfounded".
A Virgin Group spokesperson said: “We categorically reject all allegations made by Sarah Ransome. In 2019 she admitted to The New Yorker that the “tapes” had been “invented”. Any suggestion that Sir Richard Branson was involved in a “sex tape” is entirely false. The allegations are baseless and unfounded.”
“The actions of Jeffrey Epstein are abhorrent and we support the right to justice for the many victims impacted by his abuse.”