LONDON—Prince Andrew, Duke of York, was preparing to fly to London in September 2010 when Jeffrey Epstein emailed to change the couple’s plans for a quiet dinner at Buckingham Palace.
An American financier convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor for prostitution said he had three women with him, including a Russian model. “Should I bring them all to add some life,” he wrote. Andrew agreed. Later that afternoon, Epstein wrote back to add another guest, whom he described as “Romanian, very lovely”.
The next day, Epstein wrote: “Had a lot of fun, more later.” Andrew replied: “Yes please!”
The meeting at the seat of the British royal family took place exactly a year after Epstein completed a 13-month sentence for his crimes.
It was one of several new revelations in a trove of emails and texts recently published by the Justice Department — many of which contained irregular capitalization and punctuation — that have highlighted the extent of the relationship between Epstein and the younger brother of Britain’s King Charles III.
This revelation threatens to tarnish the image of the British monarchy. Charles has been harassed at recent public events over Epstein, an act almost unheard of in Britain. Buckingham Palace said in a statement that the king was “deeply concerned” about the allegations against his brother and said the palace would co-operate with any police investigation.
Andrew reaches one in 2022 Settlement with one of Epstein’s victimsAccording to the court filing, Virginia Giuffre alleged that Prince abused her on multiple occasions when she was a teenager in the early 2000s. Although the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, it was reported to be a multimillion-dollar settlement. Media scrutiny has intensified over whether then-Queen Elizabeth and the royal family financed the deal. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Andrew has not commented publicly on the recently released emails, but has previously denied wrongdoing. He was stripped of his royal titles last year and in recent weeks thrown out His mansion in the grounds of Windsor Castle, outside London. The former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
In 2019, Andrew gave an interview to the BBC in which he said he had ended all contact with Epstein since the early 2010s. He said without apology that he was unaware of any criminal behavior by Epstein and had no recollection of ever meeting Giuffre. Soon after, the Queen ordered his removal from his duties as a member of the royal household.
Newly disclosed documents show that in the years since he was released from prison, Epstein helped the prince and his indebted ex-wife Sarah Ferguson manage their finances and explore new businesses. In turn, Epstein used his royal connections, along with business contacts, to influence young women.
The new tranche of emails reveal that Epstein remained in communication with Andrew as late as 2018, through messages sent by David Stern, a close business associate who was working as a business advisor to Andrew. “Give him a hug,” Epstein emailed Stern while he was flying to Singapore to meet Andrew in June 2018.
Stern, who recently resigned from his position as an adviser to Cambridge Judge Business School in the wake of the emails, did not respond to requests seeking comment. Sarah Ferguson did not respond to an email requesting comment. She has previously said she was caught up in Epstein’s “lies.”
‘The Duke’
Andrew, Queen Elizabeth’s third child, had known Epstein on and off since 1999. The emails show that despite Epstein’s conviction, it was Andrew who re-initiated contact shortly after the disgraced financier left a Florida county jail.
A few months after Epstein’s release in 2009, he received an email from a man listed as “The Duke” in his contacts.
“It’s been too long,” wrote Andrew, who asked if he could use Epstein’s apartment in Paris for the weekend. “If this is inappropriate or unavailable I apologize for asking,” he explained.
Epstein immediately replied: “Will arrange…”
Sarah Ferguson was also in touch. According to the emails, Ferguson, who divorced Andrew in 1996 but remains on friendly terms with him, met with Epstein while he was serving his sentence. Three weeks before Epstein’s release, she sent him an email describing how she was in debt after the US wellness business she had started collapsed.
“I am deeply saddened,” he wrote. A few days after being released from jail, Ferguson brought his two daughters to his Palm Beach home for lunch.
To help her get her financial affairs in order, Epstein introduced her to Stern, who ran an advisory business called Asia Gateway and previously worked at Deutsche Bank, according to a biography written in a business pitch. He collected details of the Duchess of York’s debts totaling $6.6 million in an email to Epstein in September 2009 and worked out a plan to consolidate them. Epstein advised Stern, “This is the time to get serious, to be very tough…like a girlfriend who has cheated.”
In early 2010, Ferguson emailed Andrew suggesting that Stern could help the prince with a new plan to create a wealth fund in China. After this, Stern and Prince began discussing working together. In the email, Stern described Epstein as his “boss” and said, “I do what he tells me.”
Stern wrote to Epstein in July 2010 about the idea of opening a private wealth manager in London that would attract wealthy Chinese clients. “We very carefully make PA a part of this and use his ‘aura and reach,'” Stern wrote, referring to Prince Andrew. Later that year, Stern accompanied Andrew on official visits to China, visiting Beijing and Shenzhen, and took instructions from Epstein as to whom the prince should meet there.
Andrew also gave Epstein access to UK government activities. He sent Epstein confidential government briefings on many of the Asian countries he visited as a trade envoy.
That fall, Epstein emailed Jess Staley, then-CEO of JPMorgan Chase’s investment banking unit, about Andrew’s interest in a role with the bank in China, sparking a series of meetings between Stern and JPMorgan executives about a potential joint venture headed by Stern.
According to the email, Staley, a close confidant of Epstein, showed active interest in the idea. Stern met with JPMorgan executives in Europe and visited Hong Kong and Beijing. The plan was to pay Stern and Andrew through a company called Witan, named after the “Vitanagemot”, an ancient council that advised Anglo-Saxon kings. However, the plan never came to fruition.
JPMorgan declined to comment. Staley did not respond to a request for comment, but previously said he knew nothing of Epstein’s crimes.
In July 2013, Stern emailed Epstein saying that he and Andrew Cantor had met with Howard Lutnick, then the chief executive of Fitzgerald. The emails show draft agreements for a joint venture, with Andrew sharing revenues from introducing sovereign-wealth funds and the firm’s wealthy associates. A draft agreement discussed giving the Prince an advance of £1 million. The emails did not indicate whether the plan was ever made.
A spokesman for Cantor said: “Cantor Fitzgerald has never had any business dealings with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.” Last week, the Commerce Department, which Lutnick now heads, said in a statement that Lutnick and his wife met Epstein in 2005 and had very limited interactions with him over the next 14 years. Lutnick admitted in recent congressional testimony Visiting Epstein’s Private Island With his family in 2012.
‘Wonderful Night’
In August 2010, a month before Epstein brought the four women to Buckingham Palace, he emailed Andrew: “I have a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with.” Andrew replied, “Glad to see him.”
“She’s 26, Russian, smart, beautiful, trustworthy, and yes, she has your email,” Epstein said. The day after the proposed dinner with the prince in London, the woman named Irina emailed Epstein, saying, “I had a wonderful night.”
British police say they are now assessing reports that a woman was taken to an address in Windsor “for sexual purposes” in 2010. They are also reviewing evidence in released emails that Andrews sent classified government information to Epstein.
In recent days, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Andrew should face a police inquiry. “Britain cannot escape its role in enabling this web of exploitation,” Brown wrote.
In late 2010, Andrew visited Epstein in New York for a week, where the two were photographed walking together in Central Park, and, according to emails, were scheduled to attend a private viewing of “The King’s Speech,” the Oscar-winning film about Andrew’s grandfather, King George VI. When Andrew returned to England, he wrote to Epstein: “Oh my God, it’s cold and damp in here! I wish I still had a pet in your family!”
This was the highest point of their relationship. In early 2011, British tabloids published a photo of Andrew with his arm around Giuffre, who was 17 years old at the time. Amid a media outcry, Andrew left his post as UK trade envoy. Andrew didn’t seem too worried at first. “Don’t worry about me!”, he wrote to Epstein. “We’ll play some more soon!!!”
As the media frenzy grew, Epstein kept an eye on Prince by communicating with Stern about “PA.”
Despite the media spotlight, Epstein continued attempting to arrange private meetings for the prince. Epstein wrote to Stern in October 2013, “A very beautiful friend of mine is coming to London on Tuesday. Andrew might want to invite her over for dinner.” The email does not indicate whether the dinner took place or not.
Meanwhile Stern briefed Epstein on trips he took with Andrew to Tokyo and Singapore in 2018 to meet the then-prime minister. In March 2018, a contact of Epstein’s messaged that he was going to Buckingham Palace for a reception. “May I present you to our host, the Duke of York?”
“Yes,” Epstein replied.
A year later, Epstein was found dead in prison.
Write to Max Colchester at Max.Colchester@wsj.com And on Margot Patrick margot.patrick@wsj.com
