Following the late 2025 posthumous release of Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, Nobody’s Girl, and the subsequent unsealing of the "Epstein Files" in early 2026, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor faces an unprecedented level of disgrace – which has seen King Charles take the historic step of formally stripping Andrew of his "Prince" style and all remaining honours.
No longer a member of the working Royal Family, he was also recently forced to vacate his long-term residence at Royal Lodge.
While the man formerly known as Prince Andrew has consistently denied Giuffre’s claims (famously telling Newsnight in 2019 that he had "no recollection" of meeting her and suggesting her photographic evidence was fraudulent), the 2026 document tranch release by the U.S. Department of Justice has reignited the scandal.
The unsealed files included emails and photographs that appear to directly contradict his past defences, prompting Buckingham Palace to issue rare, stinging statements distancing the monarchy from his conduct.
Here, we chart the ties between Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell, tracing the total collapse of a royal life in the wake of the latest revelations...
A timeline of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein
1999: Photos dating back to the summer of 1999, shown in Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 trial, depict Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell together at the Royal Family’s beloved Scottish residence, Balmoral. It’s reported that this is the first year Prince Andrew and Epstein became acquainted, via Maxwell.
2000: The Prince and Epstein grow closer, and in the February of this year are spotted (along with Maxwell) and US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. Later that year, Epstein and Maxwell are invited to celebrate the birthdays of multiple Royal Family members at Windsor Castle, including Prince Andrew’s 40th.
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March 2001: Later, Virginia Giuffre (née Roberts) alleges that at age 17 she was trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions, starting with an initial encounter at Maxwell’s London townhouse in March 2001. In court filings and her memoir, released in October 2025, Giuffre also alleges that she had sex with Andrew on Epstein’s private island and at his New York residence.
Another Epstein survivor will also later allege when testifying in a 2016 deposition that the Prince groped her breast around this time.
The Prince has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and rejected these claims, and Buckingham Palace previously issued a statement saying “any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue”.
2008: Jeffrey Epstein is formally convicted in Florida on charges of procuring a minor for prostitution. He serves a 13-month jail sentence as part of an eyebrow-raising plea deal.
2009: Epstein’s former housekeeper will later testify that Andrew visited Epstein’s mansion the following year, knowing about the conviction in its entirety, and received “daily massages” during one stay.
The Prince’s ex-wife, Sarah ‘Fergie’ Ferguson, also resumed contact with Epstein after his prison sentence, and emails sent by Epstein brand her “desperate” for money, after she asks for £15,000.
Further leaked emails suggest Fergie was “the first to celebrate” the disgraced financier’s release from prison and visited Epstein (along with her children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie) in New York for his “welcome home” party. According to a report in The Telegraph, a source close to the Duchess and two Princesses claims they have no memory of such a trip.
December 2010: Prince Andrew is photographed visiting Epstein in New York City – in 2019, he later claims that he only visited Epstein to ‘end their friendship in person’ and labelled the trip a “mistake”, admitting he “let the side down”.
22 January 2011: The Duchess of York emails Epstein to thank him for sending over money allowing her to pay off personal debts: “My dear, dear friend Jeffrey, How can I thank you enough? You are a friend indeed… You have my heart. With lots of love, dear Jeffrey.”
February 2011: Media pressure mount as it’s revealed that Prince Andrew is still in contact with Epstein. In one email exchange, the royal tells Epstein: “Keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon!" and assures his friend they are “in this together”.
March 2011: The Epstein-Andrew connection explodes in the British press. News breaks that Epstein had helped Fergie with a £15,000 loan, and the photos of Andrew walking with Epstein in 2010 are published, The Guardian writes.
Under pressure, Sarah Ferguson publicly disowns Epstein in a March 2011 interview, calling him “a paedophile” and admitting accepting his money was a “terrible error of judgment.”
Andrew is summoned for crisis talks at Buckingham Palace with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II and his public duties and role as a trade envoy is questioned.
26 April 2011: Despite having publicly distanced herself from Epstein, after a “chilling” phone call, Ferguson privately sends him an email branding him a “supreme friend” and apologising for what she said about him, after he reacted with fury to her public condemnation.
The Duchess’ spokesperson later claims she sent this email under legal advice in an effort to placate Epstein’s legal threats.
21 July 2011: The backlash forces Prince Andrew to end his role as UK trade envoy (effectively a royal demotion), marking the first major repercussion for his Epstein link.
January 2015: After a quieter few years, Prince Andrew’s past with Epstein returns to haunt him as Virginia Giuffre’s allegations are filed in a US court (challenging Epstein’s plea deal), in which she named Andrew as one of the men Epstein and Maxwell forced her to have sex with as a teenager. In response, the Palace issues a statement reaffirming Andrew's denials of any wrongdoing.
2016: As part of a civil suit against Maxwell, Giuffre gives sworn testimony and claims Epstein paid her over £11,000 after she slept with Andrew. Under oath, she describes in lurid detail a sexual encounter in the bathtub at Maxwell’s London home: “He was adorning my young body, particularly my feet, caressing my toes and licking my arches.” Andrew’s team attempts to label this as a “false memory”.
July 2019: Jeffrey Epstein is arrested again on federal charges of sex trafficking minors. The arrest reignites scrutiny of Andrew. Just weeks later, on 10 August, Epstein is found dead at the age of 66 in his jail cell in an apparent suicide.
19 August 2019: Buckingham Palace issues a statement saying that Andrew is “appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes” and “His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being.” It adds that “the suggestion he would condone, participate in, or encourage any such behaviour is abhorrent.”
14 November 2019: In the now-infamous BBC Newsnight interview (recorded 14 November), widely branded a total car crash, Prince Andrew attempts to defend his reputation – claiming he cannot physically sweat (when Giuffre has said he ‘sweated’ over her on a dance floor) and swearing he was in a Pizza Express on the night Giuffre claims they had sex – but the effort disastrously backfires.
When asked if he now regrets his friendship with Epstein, Andrew replies, “Still not, and the reason being that the people that I met and the opportunities that I was given to learn – either by him or because of him – were actually very useful.”
20 November 2019: Andrew “steps back” from royal duties in the wake of the interview’s fallout. In a statement sanctioned by the Queen, Andrew announces he will “withdraw from public duties for the foreseeable future”.
January 2020: Despite Andrew’s public offer to assist investigators, U.S. authorities complain of his silence. Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announces that Andrew has provided “zero co-operation” with the FBI’s Epstein inquiry.
July 2020: Andrew’s official website is taken offline and redirects to the general Royal Family one instead.
August 2021: Virginia Giuffre launches a civil lawsuit in New York against Andrew, accusing him of sexual assault/battery when she was 17. The filing details three encounters in 2001 and claims emotional and psychological harm by the royal. Andrew’s lawyers move to dismiss the case, citing a 2009 Epstein settlement that allegedly immunised third parties.
12 January 2022: A federal judge denies Andrew’s motion to dismiss.
13 January 2022: Queen Elizabeth II strips Andrew of his remaining military titles (after outrage from serving soldiers and veterans) and royal patronages in a bid to distance the monarchy from the scandal. Via a Palace statement, the Queen also removes Andrew’s permission to use the style ‘His Royal Highness’ in any official capacity. It is announced that he will defend Giuffre’s lawsuit “as a private citizen.”
15 February 2022: Rather than face trial, Prince Andrew reaches an out-of-court settlement (for an undisclosed sum) with Virginia Giuffre and shares a public statement acknowledging her as a victim and commends her “bravery”. However, the deal contains a ‘no admission of liability’ element.
25 April 2025: Prince Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Giuffre, sadly ends her life at the age of 41 – months before her tell-all memoir is released.
23 September 2025: Sarah Ferguson’s 2011 email to Epstein is publicly exposed, dragging the Duchess back into the heart of the Epstein scandal. The Mail on Sunday obtains and publishes the apology email in which Andrew’s ex calls the convicted sex offender her “steadfast”and “supreme friend”.
Several UK children’s charities and organisations for which Ferguson served as patron swiftly cut ties with her and the Duchess’ spokesperson announces she only sent the email to placate Epstein’s threats of a defamation suit and that “as soon as she was aware of the extent of [Epstein’s crimes], she cut off contact and condemned him publicly”.
17 October 2025: Andrew releases a statement via Buckingham Palace announcing he will no longer use his Duke of York title: “In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family. I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first [...] As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
Many speculate Prince William urged King Charles to push Andrew into rescinding the title.
20 October 2025: Guiffre’s memoir, Nobody’s Girl, is released posthumously and alleges Andrew acted as though “sleeping [with her at the age of 17] was his birthright”. The book further details how Epstein and Maxwell lured the vulnerable teenager into a sex trafficking ring, and how she believed she would die a sex slave.
30 October 2025: Andrew is formally stripped of his Prince title and asked to leave his Royal Lodge home. "His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew," Buckingham Palace shares in a statement. "Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor."
The statement continued: "His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him."
12 November 2025: Emails released by the US Congressional House Oversight Committee appear to show Andrew's reaction to finding out a British newspaper was planning to run a report on his ties to Epstein and Maxwell.
"What's all this?" the former Prince is seen to say in the email. "I don't know anything about this! You must SAY so please. This has NOTHING to do with me. I can't take any more of this."
Elsewhere, another email seemingly confirms the photo of Andrew with is arm around a then-17-year-old Giuffre was real.
In an exchange with a journalist in July 2011, Epstein appeared to discuss Giuffre: "Yes she was on my plane, and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew, as many of my employees have."
31 January 2026: Following the unsealing of the 'Epstein Files', further evidence of Andrew’s visits to Epstein’s properties is revealed. An image of Andrew on all fours over a woman, whose face is redacted, is also made public.
9 February 2026: A spokesperson for the King issues a definitive statement: "The King has made clear, in words and through unprecedented actions, his profound concern at allegations which continue to come to light in respect of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor's conduct.
"While the specific claims in question are for Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to address, if we are approached by Thames Valley Police we stand ready to support them as you would expect.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
