The late Queen Elizabeth II was reportedly fiercely loyal to her son Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the former Duke of York, during the height of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal
The late Queen Elizabeth II’s steadfast devotion to her son Andrew Mountbatten Windsor was exposed in a telling four-word comment made during the peak of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
The fallen royal, whose association with the convicted paedophile financier caused his ruin, had his military honours and royal patronages removed by his mother on January 13, 2022, following the backlash from a civil sexual assault case brought in the United States by Virginia Giuffre.
Ms Giuffre alleged the former Duke of York sexually assaulted her when she was 17.
Andrew subsequently settled without admitting liability, and he has continually denied the accusations.
According to royal biographer Robert Jobson, the monarch revealed to a trusted aide that her feelings towards Andrew remained unchanged, despite his connections to Epstein and growing pressure from within the Palace to separate the Royal Family from the Duke of York, reports the Express.
Jobson’s new book, The Windsor Legacy, which is being serialised by the Daily Mail, alleges that Andrew’s mingling with Epstein and Maxwell “did nothing to dim the late Queen’s view of her second son.”
She stayed “fiercely loyal to Andrew” as the Epstein saga developed and “shielded him as Palace insiders continued to push for his exile.”
The Queen is said to have made her support clear in private, reportedly telling a confidant: “You have to remember, he is my son.”
Those heartfelt words echoed the deep maternal love the Queen held for Andrew, even as his ties with the convicted paedophile threw the Royal Family into turmoil.
Ghislaine Maxwell, 63, the daughter of the late newspaper magnate Robert Maxwell, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in the United States for sex trafficking. She and Epstein, who passed away in 2019 aged 66, were regular guests at royal residences during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Photos have emerged of the pair relaxing at Balmoral, believed to have been taken in 1999 — a testament to how easily they once moved within royal circles.
At the time, Andrew thought nothing of inviting Epstein and Maxwell to royal properties. During his now-infamous 2019 BBC Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, he dismissed suggestions that their visits carried any special significance.
When asked whether he had invited the pair to a party at Sandringham, he responded tersely: “It was a shooting weekend… a straightforward shooting weekend.”
The shamed royal also claimed that he and Epstein were “not very good friends,” despite having stayed at each other’s homes several times. Andrew insisted that Epstein only ever visited Sandringham as Maxwell’s “plus one.”
On Thursday, 30 October, the King made the dramatic decision to formally strip his brother of his Prince and Duke of York titles and HRH style, effectively ending his public life.
Andrew is set to vacate Royal Lodge as soon as possible, moving to a secret property on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk. The King will privately fund the accommodation and also provide financial support for his brother.
