Newly surfaced emails suggest Prince Andrew maintained contact with Jeffrey Epstein even after publicly cutting ties with the convicted sex offender.
According to The Guardian, an email dated February 28, 2011, shows the Duke of York telling Epstein, “We are in this together,” just months after claiming in a BBC interview that he had ended their friendship. “I’m just as concerned for you! Don’t worry about me!” the royal allegedly wrote.
“Otherwise keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”
The correspondence came after a 2011 photo showing Prince Andrew with his arm around then-17-year-old Virginia Giuffre, who later accused him of sexual assault, first appeared. The British royal has consistently denied the allegations.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls. His former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year sentence for helping him recruit and abuse minors.
The fallout has extended to Prince Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. The Daily Mail reported that the Duchess of York privately emailed Epstein in 2011, calling him a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend,” despite having publicly condemned him just days earlier.
In the message, Ferguson allegedly apologized for denouncing Epstein, writing that she had been advised to sever contact to protect her career.
A spokesperson for the duchess told The Guardian she “was taken in by Epstein’s lies” and that her email aimed to calm his threats of legal action.