In 2019, BBC Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis sat down with Prince Andrew at Buckingham Palace to talk about Jeffrey Epstein. When asked how he met Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew said that he met him in 1999 through Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured above), who was in a relationship with Epstein then. He further explained that he had known Maxwell since her days at Oxford University. Maxwell came from a well-to-do family. Her father, Robert Maxwell, was a member of parliament and owned the Daily Mirror newspaper.
Prince Andrew said that it was an exaggeration to describe that he and Epstein were close friends, and they mainly associated because of his friendship with Maxwell. Maitlis then questioned the prince about the presence of Epstein at events in Windsor Castle, and he responded by saying that he invited Maxwell, and Epstein was her plus-one. It is also known that Prince Andrew stayed at Epstein’s home several times throughout the years during his visits to the U.S., and he stated that he never noticed anything suspicious that would suggest that Epstein was involved in sex trafficking.
