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Reading Time: 3 minutes Fresh revelations have once again thrust Prince Andrew into the headlines, with the BBC disclosing that Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein were hosted at Royal Lodge — the publicly owned Windsor residence where the Duke of York effectively lives rent-free. The trio attended a private gathering there ahead of Princess Beatrice’s masked-ball 18th birthday celebration in 2006, just two months after Epstein became the subject of a U.S. arrest warrant for the sexual assault of a minor. While it had previously been reported that the disgraced trio attended festivities at Windsor Castle, it had not been known that they were received at Andrew’s private home. The BBC verified the location by matching trees and patio walls from archival photographs of Epstein, Maxwell and Weinstein with other images of Royal Lodge. Epstein was arrested in Florida eight days after the event. In a 2019 Newsnight interview, Prince Andrew insisted he had not known of the charges against Epstein at the time invitations were issued, saying: “Certainly I wasn’t aware when the invitation was issued what was going on in the United States.” He has not responded to new requests for comment. The disclosure comes amid intensified scrutiny over the prince’s financial and personal affairs. Questions continue to mount over how he funds his lifestyle despite no longer being a working royal, with reports indicating he pays only a nominal annual rent for Royal Lodge — a property he has occupied for decades — though he made substantial upfront payments for renovations. Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on speculation that Andrew may be asked to vacate the home, with alternative residences such as Adelaide Cottage or Frogmore Cottage said to have been discussed. The Duke of York relinquished his remaining royal titles earlier this month following renewed attention to his long-standing links with Epstein, reignited by the posthumous publication of Virginia Giuffre’s memoir. Giuffre alleges that she had sex with the prince on three occasions, including once in the presence of Epstein and “eight other young girls.” Andrew, who reached a financial settlement with Giuffre in 2022, has consistently denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that he does not recall ever meeting her. The latest developments have also spilled over into the public sphere. During a royal visit to Staffordshire on Monday, King Charles was heckled by a lone protester demanding to know “how long [he] had known about Andrew and Epstein,” and accusing him of a cover-up. The King ignored the questions and continued greeting well-wishers outside Lichfield Cathedral, many of whom responded to the disruption with chants of “God Save the King” and “three cheers for the King.” Epstein and Maxwell were frequent guests at royal properties in the late 1990s and early 2000s, appearing at Balmoral, Sandringham and Windsor Castle on several occasions. Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking; Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting and trafficking underage girls for his abuse. Weinstein, also once a fixture of London’s elite circles, remains incarcerated following convictions for sexual assault in New York and Los Angeles, though some charges are pending retrial. Together, the revelations cast an unflattering light on the Duke of York’s past associations and raise renewed questions about accountability within the royal household — a distraction the monarchy could scarcely afford as it seeks to project stability under King Charles’s reign. Read more via BBC
