Former Prince Andrew is facing renewed scrutiny after reports suggested he may have used the late Queen Elizabeth II’s beloved Sandringham House for at least one encounter linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A newly released black-and-white photograph published from records on the United States Department of Justice website shows Andrew, now 65, lying across the laps of several women whose identities have been redacted. The image was reportedly taken in the saloon at Sandringham and also features Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate who was later convicted of sex trafficking offences.
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Sandringham is one of the British royal family’s most cherished private estates and has traditionally been used for Christmas and New Year celebrations. The custom was closely associated with Queen Elizabeth II, who spent many holidays there during her reign.
The photograph is among thousands of documents released by the US Department of Justice on December 19 as part of records connected to Epstein’s estate. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The newly released material has reignited questions about Prince Andrew’s past relationship with Epstein.
In October, Andrew was stripped of his remaining royal titles, including the use of “Prince,” following years of controversy linked to his association with Epstein. The decision was made by King Charles III with the support of senior members of the royal family, including Prince William.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting sex from a minor, and his friendship with Andrew was well documented at the time. The two were photographed together on several occasions, including at former US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Prince Andrew became legally entangled in the Epstein scandal in 2015, when Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit alleging she was trafficked to him for sex on three occasions when she was 17. Andrew has consistently denied the allegations. He stepped back from public royal duties in November 2019 following a widely criticised BBC Newsnight interview about his ties to Epstein.
In January 2022, Queen Elizabeth removed Andrew’s military titles and royal patronages after he sought to have Giuffre’s lawsuit dismissed. The following month, he reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre for an undisclosed amount.
Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025 at the age of 41. Public attention on Andrew intensified further after the release of her posthumous memoir, in which she wrote that the former prince believed having sex with her “was his birthright.”
