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Prince Andrew welcomed Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein to the Royal Lodge for Princess Beatrice's 18th birthday, according to reports. It recently emerged that the 65-year-old prince has been paying "peppercorn rent" since he moved into the 30-room Windsor property in 2003. The disgraced royal and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, relinquished their royal titles earlier this month amid their scandalous ties to the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. This decision came after Andrew's association with Epstein resurfaced in the headlines, as well as his links to an alleged Chinese spy. Andrew was accused of sexually assaulting Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre but has vehemently denied all of the accusations made against him. It has now emerged that the sex offender trio attended the masked ball that was set up for Beatrice's birthday in 2003, which came two months after a US arrest warrant had been put out for Epstein regarding the sexual assault of a minor. It is understood that Epstein, Maxwell and Weinstein visited Royal Lodge ahead of the main party, which took place in the state rooms of Windsor Castle and involved a champagne reception and banquet, the Express reports. When questioned about Epstein's invite during his infamous 2019 Newsnight interview, Andrew replied: "Certainly I wasn't aware when the invitation was issued what was going on in the United States "And I wasn't aware until the media picked up on it because he never said anything about it." In her newly-released posthumous memoir, Andrew's late accuser Virginia Giuffre claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three separate occasions, including once with Epstein and "eight other young girls". Andrew and Fergie, who still live together despite divorcing almost 30 years ago, are now facing calls to move out of Royal Lodge. Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here . The former couple have reportedly agreed to vacate the Royal Lodge if they are given two separate homes . Andrew, who is King Charles' younger brother, is said to have his eye on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's former UK abode, Frogmore Cottage, which is also located in Windsor. Unlike her ex-husband, Fergie is said to be keen to move into Adelaide Cottage once Prince William and Kate Middleton move out next month with their three kids. Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages The Wales family are relocating into a historic Georgian eight-bedroom mansion in a private section of Windsor Great Park. It's been widely reported that the King has been pushing for Andrew to leave Royal Lodge for quite some time. However, getting the former Duke of York out of the property has not been that easy. This is because Andrew, who stays at Royal Lodge with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who has also been stripped of her titles, has a “cast iron lease”, which means he can live at the property until 2078 if he adheres to the terms of the lease.
