Prince Andrew broke cover today to host a shooting party in Windsor for his friends – days after the humiliating Jeffrey Epstein court documents caused the duke to ‘lock himself away in a room’.
The Duke of York, 63, was pictured at the wheel of a dark green Range Rover as he made a rare outing from Royal Lodge in the wake of the Epstein papers being released.
Andrew did not even venture out for his weekly horse riding trip last Saturday as he opts to hole up inside his 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park after being thrown back into the limelight.
Having only made one other outing since the files were unsealed, a source told the Mail last week: ‘He doesn’t have the emotional bandwidth to deal with this. He has locked himself away in a room and has no idea how to respond. He’s devastated.’
It comes as speculation mounts over whether Andrew will be evicted from Royal Lodge. A friend of the duke told The Times this week that King Charles will let his brother stay at the home on the Crown Estate because ‘blood is thicker than water’.
The bombshell papers have thrust the duke’s relationship with paedophile Epstein back into the spotlight with claims that the prince committed ‘acts of sexual abuse’ and took part in an ‘underage orgy’.
Prince Andrew (pictured) broke cover today to host a shooting party in Windsor for his friends
Andrew (pictured today) has been engulfed by scandal ever since sex abuse claims first emerged against his friend Epstein
It is a rare outing for Andrew who has only been seen out and about once since the release of the Epstein court documents
The duke hosted a shooting party in Windsor with some of his friends. Pictured: A group of men attending the shoot
Andrew has been engulfed by scandal ever since sex abuse claims first emerged against his friend Epstein. In 2022, the royal settled out of court with Ms Giuffre, one of the paedophile’s victims, after she claimed he sexually assaulted her.
The duke has vehemently and repeatedly denied all allegations against him.
The latest tranche of newly unsealed Epstein documents revealed that Ms Giuffre claimed Epstein paid her $15,000 to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17-years-old.
The 40-year-old made the allegations when she gave evidence in 2016 while being questioned under oath.
‘I did receive $15,000. I do not know the equivalent to what that is in pounds,’ she said , before she was quizzed by a lawyer on whether she paid tax on the amount, with Mrs Giuffre replying ‘no’.
The papers also include sordid claims Epstein secretly filmed the royal having sex.
Sarah Ransome, who gave a victim impact statement ahead of the sentencing of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell for sex-trafficking, appeared to write communications claiming Andrew, Richard Branson and Bill Clinton were all filmed.
A letter from Miss Ransome, seen for the first time, states: ‘When my friend had sexual intercourse with Clinton, Prince Andrew and Richard Branson, sex tapes were in fact filmed on each separate occasion by Jeffrey.
‘I personally can confirm that I have, with my own two eyes, seen the evidence of these sexual acts, which clearly identifies Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Richard Branson having sexual intercourse with my friend. I will be more then [sic] willing to swear under oath and testify in court.’
Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts (now Giuffre) and Ghislaine Maxwell are pictured in 2001 at Maxwell’s London townhouse
The Duke of York, 63, was pictured at the wheel of a green Range Rover as he left Royal Lodge
The latest tranche of newly unsealed Epstein documents revealed that Ms Giuffre claimed Epstein paid her $15,000 to have sex with Prince Andrew (pictured today) when she was 17-years-old
Prince Andrew, Mr Clinton, Mr Trump and Mr Branson have all strenuously denied any wrongdoing, and the sex tapes claim was described as ‘baseless and unfounded’ by the Virgin tycoon’s spokesman.
Although many of the accusations reported in them were not new, the papers shed light on the uncomfortable closeness of the late Queen’s son to Epstein, accused of abusing dozens of underage girls over several decades.
It has been claimed that Andrew spent ‘weeks’ at a time staying with the abuser, receiving ‘daily’ massages from his largely female staff.
Mrs Guiffre has previously claimed she was trafficked to the UK at the age of 17 by Epstein and Maxwell and forced to have sex with Andrew.
She also says she slept with the royal at Epstein’s homes in New York and the Caribbean, where an ‘underage orgy’ took place.
The furore has also once again raised questions about Andrew’s role within the Royal Family and his future life.
The King has made clear there is now way back for his brother, already stripped of his royal duties and use of his HRH title by the late Queen, as a working royal.
But he is still permitted to attend family events – such as the Coronation and the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham – in a private capacity.
Last month, the disgraced duke was caught demanding to know why fans who had stood in the cold to see the Royal Family at Sandringham on Christmas Day ‘have their cameras on’.
It comes after an associate of the duke claimed that King Charles will not evict Prince Andrew from his Royal Lodge home because ‘blood is thicker than water’. Pictured: Charles and Andrew pictured in April 2023 at Windsor Castle, with Princess Anne walking behind
An associate, who is in regular communication with the duke, has claimed that while some palace officials may back the eviction from Royal Lodge (pictured), King Charles would never authorise it
Prince Andrew was pictured earlier this week leaving Royal Lodge in a rare outing since the release of the papers
It comes amid speculation over whether Prince Andrew will be allowed to stay in Royal Lodge.
An associate of the duke claimed that while some palace officials would back the eviction, King Charles would never authorise it.
‘The King is somebody with a high level of integrity,’ the source told the Times. ‘There are people in the royal household who would take a more aggressive stance, but in that family, blood is thicker than water.’
The associate claimed that like any leaseholder, the duke has rights to the property and that the King would not favour withdrawing his brother’s security and kicking him out.
Prince Andrew has lived at the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park for 20 years and is entitled to carry on until 2078 under his lease with the Crown Estate.
It has previously been claimed that the under-fire duke is facing calls to move to Frogmore Cottage, a five-bed home on the Windsor estate where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle used to live.
In 2022, Prince Andrew settled a lawsuit out of court with Giuffre for an estimated £12million without accepting liability
Prince Andrew pictured walking with Jeffrey Epstein in New York’s Central Park in 2011
The source, who insists he has never seen Andrew do anything ‘inappropriate’, does not believe that his long-time friend will return to public life unless public opinion of him dramatically changes.
In the final round of documents being released, it was revealed that Epstein refused to answer questions over whether he attempted to blackmail the Duke of York after his alleged sexual encounter with Ms Giuffre.
Epstein declined to answer almost all of the questions, also known as pleading the fifth amendment in the US, during his interview under oath as part of Ms Giuffre’s civil claim against disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.
He was quizzed over whether he and Maxwell instructed Ms Giuffre to have sex with Andrew in 2001 and if the information gathered as part of the legal action ‘has the potential to affect the reputation’ of the duke.
Andrew stepped down from public life after the furore over his friendship with Epstein.
He was cast out of the working monarchy and no longer uses his HRH style after Ms Giuffre, who was trafficked by Epstein, accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.
The duke strenuously denies any wrongdoing.