LONDON – A second Jeffrey Epstein accuser has alleged the late US sex offender arranged a sexual encounter with former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at his residence on the Windsor estate in 2010, the BBC reported on Saturday.
The woman, who was in her 20s at the time of the alleged incident, is represented by Brad Edwards from the Florida legal firm Edwards Henderson. Edwards told the broadcaster the woman was sent to Britain by Epstein and spent the night with Andrew at his home west of London.
Following the alleged encounter, the woman said she was given a tour of Buckingham Palace. Edwards said communications between his client and the former prince occurred before the meeting and that he is now considering filing a civil lawsuit on her behalf.
The lawyer reportedly represents more than 200 survivors of Epstein abuse. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment from AFP. Andrew could not be reached for comment but has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing linked to Epstein.
The allegation surfaced after the US Justice Department released a substantial batch of documents on the Epstein case, including photographs of Andrew kneeling over a woman lying on the floor. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the disgraced royal should accept requests to testify before the US Congress about Epstein’s crimes.
The claim comes more than a decade after sexual assault accusations against the former Duke of York by another Epstein accuser, Virginia Giuffre, first emerged publicly. Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen who took her own life last year, alleged she was trafficked to have sex with Andrew three times, including twice when she was 17.
After Giuffre launched a lawsuit against him, Andrew paid her a multi-million-pound settlement in 2022 without making any admission of guilt. King Charles III stripped his brother of his royal titles and honours late last year after Giuffre recounted the claims in detail in a posthumous memoir.
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Andrew (65) had already stepped back from royal duties in 2019 over the accusations and his Epstein ties. The former prince maintained their friendship even after the disgraced American financier had pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019 as he awaited trial for sex crimes against minors.
The latest Justice Department release again highlighted the relationship between Epstein and former British ambassador to Washington and UK minister Peter Mandelson. Mandelson resigned from the US post last year after emails emerged showing he had maintained friendly contact with Epstein after the American’s 2008 conviction.
On Sunday, Mandelson told the BBC he does not remember receiving payments from Epstein in 2003 and 2004 which totalled $75,000 (R1,210,000), according to bank statements reportedly included in Friday’s disclosures. Mandelson, who was a Labour MP at the time, told the broadcaster he had no record or recollection of receiving the money and did not know whether the documents were authentic.
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