Advertisement
A new biography is shedding light on Prince Andrew’s controversial ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Royal historian Andrew Lownie’s 2025 book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York paints Andrew as “easy prey for a rattlesnake like Epstein,” claiming Epstein used the prince for influence and later sold his secrets to foreign intelligence agencies.
Lownie writes that Andrew officially says he met Epstein in 1999. But according to his research, Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson had known both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell for at least a decade before that. In the book, Lownie says Epstein “played” Andrew, using his royal status for respectability, access to political leaders, and business opportunities.
A source close to Epstein reportedly described Andrew as Epstein’s “Super Bowl Trophy.” Lownie says he confirmed claims that Epstein passed Andrew’s secrets to Middle Eastern and Libyan agencies, while also plotting to sell information to Israel’s Mossad and maintaining Kremlin contacts that could have reached Vladimir Putin.
One insider told Lownie that Andrew had “a weakness for the girls and fast life” and that Epstein provided those indulgences. In return, Andrew allegedly shared information that Epstein then passed to Israeli intelligence. The source said Andrew never realized he was being used.
Andrew’s association with Epstein has been a lasting stain on the royal family. Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Despite Epstein’s conviction, Andrew maintained their friendship, even attending events together, something that fueled public outrage.
The scandal deepened when Virginia Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was a minor trafficked by Epstein. Andrew denied the allegations but reached a settlement with Giuffre in 2022 for a reported £12 million, about $16 million today. Giuffre died by suicide in 2025.
The fallout has left Andrew’s royal role all but erased. He stepped back from public duties, lost his military titles and patronages in 2022, and no longer uses the title “His Royal Highness” officially. While King Charles III has allowed him to remain at Royal Lodge, Andrew is not involved in frontline royal work and is kept away from most public events.
Lownie’s book suggests that far from being just a scandalous friendship, Andrew’s relationship with Epstein may have involved high-level intelligence dealings, and that Andrew was too naïve, or too reckless, to see it happening.