This should have been one of the happiest days of the year for the disgraced Prince Andrew, but he seems destined to never escape the shadow of his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Just as Andrew was trying to return to the public eye through a family event, a fresh scandal has erupted once more.
The 65-year-old Andrew made his first public appearance since being formally stripped of his royal titles in October, attending the baptism of his granddaughter Athena in London. However, just hours after the ceremony, the U.S. House Oversight Committee released a trove of photos revealing Epstein’s close social connections with a host of powerful figures. Among them, a striking image shows Andrew in animated conversation with Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates at an event hosted by Epstein.
On Friday, December 12, Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson were in attendance for the baptism of Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi’s second daughter. Athena’s proud aunt, Princess Eugenie, was also present to witness the occasion.
Athena was born prematurely in January this year and was baptized at the Royal Chapel of St James’s Palace. According to on-site reports, Andrew deliberately chose to enter through a side door to avoid the omnipresent paparazzi. Meanwhile, other relatives and friends, including his daughter Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, were still captured by media cameras as they arrived at the chapel.
With Democratic members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee officially releasing nearly 100,000 photos, Andrew’s links to Epstein have once again become the focus of public opinion. These images vividly document the social interactions between Epstein and numerous high-profile figures before his arrest on solicitation charges in 2006, a list that includes current President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, and renowned director Woody Allen, among other heavyweights.
While the former Duke of York does not appear directly in any close-up group photos with Epstein, one leaked image shows 70-year-old Microsoft founder Bill Gates standing side by side with Andrew, both smiling and looking relaxed.
Hours after Andrew attended the baptism, politicians took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to disclose: “Democrats on the Oversight Committee have obtained 95,000 new photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate archives. These disturbing images raise more questions about just how deep Epstein’s relationships ran with the world’s most powerful people.” Democrats on the committee further added: “It’s time to end the White House cover-up and make these documents public!” They then attached a link showcasing 19 photos featuring Epstein’s most prominent associates.
Andrew’s Links to Epstein
Less than two months have passed since his brother, King Charles III, stripped Andrew of all his royal titles and privileges, and this latest revelation once again cruelly lays bare the unbreakable close relationship between Andrew and Epstein.
Prior to this, Buckingham Palace had already taken harsh measures. King Charles not only revoked his brother’s titles but also formally notified him to hand over the lease of his royal villa and move out of his long-resided luxury residence in Windsor.
Fallout from Giuffre’s Memoir
The source of this series of upheavals largely stems from Virginia Giuffre’s memoir Nobody’s Girl, published after Epstein’s death, which once again targeted Andrew.
The book leveled new scandalous allegations against Andrew. Giuffre claimed that the former prince regarded having sexual relations with her when she was just 17 years old as an “inherent right.” She also alleged that Andrew accurately guessed her age simply because his two daughters were teenagers at the time, “only a few years younger than Giuffre herself.”
In the face of the ongoing scandal, Buckingham Palace issued a statement on October 30 announcing: “The Duke of York will henceforth be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor,” and that his hereditary royal titles had been revoked in light of the seriousness of the Epstein scandal.
The statement also noted that while Prince Andrew has always maintained his innocence and continued to deny ever sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre when she was a minor, “these disciplinary measures are deemed necessary.”
King Charles and Queen Camilla added in the statement: “Their Majesties wish to make clear that they stand, and will continue to stand, with all victims and survivors of abuse in all its forms, and offer them their deepest sympathy.”
Author Bio
Beth Hilliday is a senior entertainment and royal news journalist.
Source: Royal Family Nightmare: Ex-Prince Andrew Spotted With Bill Gates in Explosive New Epstein Photos — After King Charles Stripped His Title
