Prince Andrew named in Jeffrey Epstein court documents as claims against Duke of York laid bare
Prince Andrew has been named as one of the high-profile figures in newly released court documents relating to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Last month a judge ordered the release of the documents which refers to more than 150 people who were associated with Epstein.
She ordered that some individuals should be named because they had already given interviews to the media.
The Duke of York has previously denied any wrongdoing, and Buckingham Palace previously said the allegations are “categorically untrue”.
Among the newly released records, includes 40 documents of evidence from Johanna Sjoberg, who claimed that Prince touched her breast whilst inside Epstein’s Manhattan apartment in 2001.
That night, Sjoberg said that Maxwell summoned her to a closet, where she pulled out a puppet of the Duke of York.
“It looked like him,” Sjoberg said. “And she brought it down and presented it to him; and that was a great joke, because apparently it was a production from a show on BBC.
“And they decided to take a picture with it, in which Virginia and Andrew sat on a couch.
“They put the puppet on Virginia’s lap, and I sat on Andrew’s lap, and they put the puppet’s hand on Virginia’s breast, and Andrew put his hand on my breast, and they took a photo.”
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One of the records released includes a 2015 email sent by Maxwell where she appears to refer to Prince Andrew and former US President Bill Clinton.
It read: “I have already suffered such a terrible and painful loss over the last few days that I can’t even see what life after press he’ll even looks like – statements that don’t address all just lead to more questions.
“… what is my relationship to clinton ? Andrew on and on. Let’s rest till monday. I need head space.”
Giuffre, who had her lawsuit against Maxwell settled in 2017, was one of dozens of women who claimed Epstein abused them at his homes in Florida, New York, the US Virgin Islands and Mexico.
She infamously appeared in a photograph alongside Prince Andrew and Maxwell when she was younger.
Giuffre settled a lawsuit against Prince Andrew in 2022.
After the 2017 case was settled, Maxwell’s attorneys fought for the names to remain private, however, their objection was lifted in 2022.
The files released individuals whose names had previously been redacted.
The trove of files – containing about 900 pages – did not reveal any new revelations about the disgraced millionaire, who died in 2019. However, more documents are expected to be released in the coming days.
Former US presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are also named, though neither is accused of illegality.
Those listed include “alleged victims, people not accused of wrongdoing…and absent third parties.”
Prince Andrew stepped away from the public spotlight after his friendship with Epstein was brought to light. He also paid millions to settle a sexual assault case with Giuffre, a woman he has denied ever meeting.