UK investigates claims Andrew sent trade information to Epstein

Authorities in London are investigating claims that former Prince Andrew sent confidential trade information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after a series of emails between the two was made public by the U.S. Justice Department last month. 

Thames Valley Police, which serves areas west of London, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home at Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle, said in a statement Monday that they are assessing the claims.

The emails between Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein were part of the more than three million pages of documents from the Justice Department’s investigation into Epstein that were released last month.

The communications indicate that Mountbatten-Windsor sent Epstein trade reports from a 2010 tour of Southeast Asia while he was serving as Britain’s envoy for international trade. The former prince also shared the itinerary for a two-week trip to Hanoi, Saigon, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong with Epstein, according to the emails. 

Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titles by his brother King Charles III last year as speculation over his alleged ties to Epstein mounted. The former prince has denied involvement with Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise. 

“While the specific claims in question are for Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to address, if we are approached by Thames Valley Police we stand ready to support them as you would expect,” a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said in a statement Monday. “The King has made clear, in words and through unprecedented actions, his profound concern at allegations which continue to come to light in respect of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct.”

Mountbatten-Windsor’s nephew Prince William and his wife, Princess Catherine, are “deeply concerned” by revelations from the recent files released by the Justice Department related to Epstein, a Kensington Palace spokesperson said Monday. 

The release of the files has also engulfed the U.K. parliament in controversy. Several officials have resigned from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet amid revelations over the depth of former British Ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson’s relationship to Epstein.

Starmer appointed Mandelson in 2024, but fired him less than a year later amid allegations that he maintained a friendship with Epstein after the late financier was convicted of sex offenses involving a minor in 2008. Documents released last month contained further details about the relationship Mandelson and Epstein shared. The documents suggest that Mandelson may have leaked sensitive government information to Epstein while serving as business secretary under former Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009.

Calls for Starmer’s resignation have since amassed from critics who allege the prime minister knew of Mandelson’s ties to Epstein when he appointed him to one of Britain’s chief diplomacy positions. Starmer vowed to release documents related to Mandelson’s confirmation process last week, saying the pair’s friendship was public knowledge, “but none of us knew the depth of the darkness of that relationship.”

In the same speech, Starmer apologized for “having believed Mandelson’s lies.”