Police probe Andrew, Epstein and Maxwell visits to Balmoral estate
Detectives are investigating trips to the Balmoral estate by the former Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, including claims that women were trafficked to the Scottish royal property.
Police have opened an investigation into visits to the Balmoral estate in Scotland by the former Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, with enquiries reported to focus on claims that women were «trafficked» to the royal property. The Daily Express, which first reported the enquiries, said they are understood to relate to the visit made to the estate by Maxwell and the others, and the allegations at the heart of the probe concern the movement of women to the Scottish residence.
Detectives have launched the investigation into trips to Balmoral by Andrew, Epstein and Maxwell, according to the Daily Mirror, which reported the same claims and described the inquiry as a new development in a case that has repeatedly drawn attention to the former prince. The reports stress that the allegations of trafficking have not been proven in public, and that the investigation is at an early stage.
The inquiry follows continued scrutiny of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's association with Epstein and Maxwell. Epstein, a financier, died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges in the United States. Maxwell, his former associate, was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking offences and was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison for recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein to abuse.
Balmoral, the Aberdeenshire estate that the royal family has used as a private residence for generations, is one of the most closely guarded royal properties in Britain. Its use as the location of the reported visits brings a Scottish police enquiry into a matter that had previously been pursued largely through civil cases and criminal proceedings in the United States.
Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and has denied the allegations made against him in civil proceedings in the United States. In 2022 he reached a settlement in a civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's accusers, while maintaining that he had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes. In the wake of renewed scrutiny he stepped back from public duties and was subsequently stripped of his military affiliations and royal titles.
Police have not, at the time of reporting, announced any charges against any individual in relation to the Balmoral visits, and the nature and scope of the enquiry have not been set out in detail. Further reporting is expected as the investigation proceeds.
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