Britain’s former Prince Andrew planned post-prison meeting with Epstein, emails reveal

Newly released email correspondence has revealed that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the former Duke of York, planned to “catch up in person” with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein just months after Epstein was released from prison in 2010.

The revelation contradicts the former royal’s previous public statements about his efforts to cut ties with the disgraced financier. The emails were made public on Friday as part of unsealed court documents, emerging just two days after the Duke was stripped of his titles by Buckingham Palace over spiralling scandals.

The exchange, dated April 15, 2010, shows the former Duke responding to an email from Epstein.

Epstein had been released from jail after serving a sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor, a conviction he received in July 2009.

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Andrew wrote that he had “no immediate plans to drop by New York” but suggested he would look to visit “at some stage soon.” He then added the crucial line: “It would be good to catch up in person.” The two were later photographed together in New York’s Central Park in December of that year.

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s contradicting public claims

The friendly tone of the email directly conflicts with the account Andrew gave during his widely criticised 2019 interview with the BBC’s Newsnight.

In that interview, he claimed that the sole reason for his 2010 visit to New York was to personally break off contact with Epstein, calling the meeting a “wrong decision.”

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He insisted he had to deliver the news in person, saying doing it “over the telephone was the chicken’s way of doing it.” The newly released messages suggest the initial plan was, in fact, to maintain their personal relationship.

The correspondence was released from documents tied to a 2023 legal case.

The US Virgin Islands government sued the financial institution JP Morgan over its alleged dealings with Epstein. While JP Morgan settled the case without admitting fault, the court process has resulted in the public release of various documents, shedding new light on Epstein’s high-profile connections.

The latest emails intensify pressure on the former Duke following the palace’s decision to remove his remaining titles.