Prince Andrew is reportedly “terrified to visit the US” as a result of calls for a fresh FBI investigation in the US into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, it’s been claimed.

A source told The Sun that the Duke of York, 64, fears getting arrested if he travels to the States as a result of the Epstein scandal, which resulted in the duke stepping down from all royal duties in 2019 as a result of his past relationship with the late convicted paedophile.

The duke’s fears are reportedly now more intense after Donald Trump‘s nominee for FBI director has pledged to “do everything” possible to expose the people who enabled Epstein, with lawyers representing the victims urging the UK Government to hand over Prince Andrew for questioning.

This comes years after it emerged that the duke had been friends with Epstein, which was followed by accusations of sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed the duke sexually assaulted her when she was a minor.

Andrew has always vehemently denied these allegations and settled out-of-court with Giuffre in 2022.

A close friend of Andrew told The Sun: “He is terrified if he goes to America he could be arrested, face civil action or be subpoenaed. He used to be Air Miles Andy but he will never risk going to America again.”

In 2020, the FBI reportedly asked the Home Office for assistance in questioning Andrew, but the investigation was put on hold last year.

However, the spotlight has returned to the friendship of Epstein and Andrew after High Court documents last week revealed an email exchange between the pair in February 2011.

This comes after the duke had always insisted that he stopped seeing or speaking to Epstein in December 2010, when the pair were photographed together in New York. The duke insisted this was the case during the 2019 Newsnight interview.

However, it has now been revealed that the prince wrote in a 2011 email exchange with Epstein: “Keep in close touch, and we’ll play some more soon!”

Andrew has been keeping a low profile over the last few years, with the duke spending most of his time at his Royal Lodge home in Windsor.