Prince Andrew's long-scrutinized connection to Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein has returned to the spotlight as a new biography alleges a deeper personal and operational entanglement between the disgraced royal and the convicted sex trafficker.
In his forthcoming book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, historian Andrew Lownie claims that Prince Andrew and Maxwell were "occasional lovers" over a period of years. The revelation builds on earlier speculation and inside accounts, including that of former royal protection officer Paul Page, who previously stated: "From the way she was allowed to enter and exit the palace at will, we suspected that she may have had an intimate relationship with Prince Andrew."
The book also includes claims that Epstein once said of Andrew: "We are both serial sex addicts. He's the only person I have met who is more obsessed with p***y than me. We have shared the same women." The convicted financier, who died in a Manhattan jail in 2019, allegedly told others that Andrew was his "closest friend in the world."
Prince Andrew's ties to Epstein ultimately led to his withdrawal from public duties following a 2019 BBC Newsnight interview that was widely seen as disastrous. During that broadcast, the prince made bizarre claims to refute allegations by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, including that he could not have been sweating at a nightclub as she described because he "had suffered what I would describe as an overdose of adrenalin in the Falkland's War" and "it was almost impossible for me to sweat."
The new book also reveals that prior to that interview, BBC producers had obtained internal emails between Maxwell and Andrew that "didn't exclaim 'it's a fake,' 'I've never met her' or any other questions," but instead indicated they "worked together to build a dossier about Virginia to leak to the media," according to producer Laura Burns.
Giuffre has long alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17. The Duke of York denied the allegations but settled her lawsuit out of court in 2022 without admitting liability.
Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, previously said she was "shaken" to learn Andrew's legal team claimed the two were never close. "I feel so bad for him," Maxwell stated. "I accept that this friendship could not survive my conviction. He is paying such a price for the association. I consider him a dear friend. I care about him."
Lownie also claims that both Andrew and Maxwell planned to counter the allegations by preparing media briefings. The emails collected by BBC investigators showed coordination between the two figures in targeting Giuffre's credibility, rather than denying the accusations outright.
Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the latest revelations. The biography, published by William Collins, is scheduled for release on August 14.
