It is a scandal that just does not want to disappear for the British royal house, despite their attempts to distance themselves from Andrew, says court expert Richard Palmer.
Andrew Lownie's book "Entitled: The rise and fall of the house of York" portrays Prince Andrew as arrogant, mean to staff, selfish and sex-obsessed but often alone and isolated. The book of over 450 pages is based on hundreds of interviews. Sometimes with unexpected details. Such as film director Woody Allen sitting at the same dinner table as Prince Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein's house on Manhattan.
Already in the 1990s
The book describes Prince Andrew's business partners: Libyan arms dealers, dictator relatives and a Chinese spy. High on the list of unfortunate acquaintances is Jeffrey Epstein. The book details how Andrew's and Epstein's relationship began as early as the beginning of the 1990s – earlier than previously known – and how it was initially unequal to the Briton's disadvantage.
Epstein's world of large sums of money and sexual exploitation is portrayed as a form of blackmail directed at powerful people. The well-known photograph of trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre together with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell in London is said to have been taken by Epstein himself.
The center of the scandal
Giuffre later accused Prince Andrew of sexual abuse on three occasions when she was 17 years old, something the prince has consistently denied. The scandal culminated after the disastrous interview in BBC's "Newsnight" in 2019, where the prince tried to explain and defend his relationship with Epstein. Shortly thereafter, Giuffre sued him in the USA for sexual abuse. The case ended in 2022 with a settlement where Andrew paid an unknown amount.
The book "Entitled", which will be released on August 14, once again puts the spotlight on Prince Andrew in the midst of the Epstein scandal.
Something that is particularly sensitive now when (USA's president Donald Trump) is being scrutinized for his friendship with the deceased pedophile, says court expert Richard Palmer.
