Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor‘s involvement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has dominated headlines about the British royal family for years now, most recently resulting in the arrest of the former Duke of York on his 66th birthday at his new home on the Sandringham Estate. Andrew, for his part, denies any wrongdoing, however new information continues to surface.
Andrew and Epstein maintained a long friendship that began in 1999 when they were reportedly introduced by Ghislaine Maxwell. After Epstein was released from prison in 2009, Andrew traveled to New York City to “end the friendship,” per NPR. Years later, however, emails from both Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson revealed that neither royal had actually cut off ties with the financier, according to the BBC. Indeed, they continued to correspond, with Ferguson even bringing their daughters to lunch with Epstein just days after he was released from prison.
Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at Royal Ascot in June 2015.
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Most recently, a rumored investigation into Andrew’s alleged misconduct during his role as the U.K.’s trade envoy led to his aforementioned arrest. The former prince was arrested on suspicion of sharing confidential trade information with Epstein and is now being held in police custody. He was also recently evicted from Royal Lodge, along with Ferguson, after a years-long campaign by King Charles to remove his younger brother from Windsor Great Park. But let’s go back a few decades and start from the very beginning. Ahead, a full timeline of the disgraced royal’s fall from grace.
1999: Andrew is reportedly introduced to Jeffrey Epstein.
The duo apparently met via Ghislaine Maxwell, who was Epstein’s partner at the time. Decades later, a photo of Epstein and Maxwell at Andrew’s mother’s Balmoral estate surfaced during Maxwell’s 2021 trial for sex trafficking. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking of a minor and a related conspiracy charge, and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
2000: Andrew parties with Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Melania Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Gwendolyn Beck, and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at Mar-a-Lago in 2000.
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Following their introduction, Epstein and Andrew paid a visit to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. The ex-prince then invited Epstein and Maxwell to celebrate his 40th birthday at Windsor Castle later that same year.
June 2008: Jeffrey Epstein pleads guilty.
In 2008, Epstein pled guilty to two charges in a Florida court room: solicitation of prostitution and procurement of a minor for prostitution. His “sweetheart” plea deal included immunity for both Epstein and any unnamed co-conspirators from federal sex-trafficking charges.
December 2010: Andrew visits Jeffrey Epstein.
Following Epstein’s release from prison, Andrew paid him a visit in New York City. The royal later told the BBC that he did so in order to “end the friendship” in person.
July 2011: Andrew is forced to quit his trade envoy role.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at the wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall in 2011.
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It didn’t take long for word to spread about Andrew’s visit to Epstein. The former duke subsequently stepped down from his role as the UK special representative for trade and investment amid a “a steady stream of criticism,” per BBC.
April 2015: Andrew is named in court documents.
Epstein’s 2008 criminal case once again made headlines in 2015 when documents were released that included Virginia Giuffre’s allegations that she was forced to have sex with then-Prince Andrew at the home of Maxwell in the early 2000s. Buckingham Palace denied the allegations as “categorically untrue,” per The Guardian.
July 2019: Jeffrey Epstein is re-arrested.
On July 6, 2019, Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. He was found dead in his jail cell roughly one month later.
November 2019: Andrew sits down for an interview with BBC.
During what was widely considered to be a disastrous interview, the royal claimed that he did not have sex with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, and that he had “no recollection of ever meeting this lady.” His mother Queen Elizabeth II subsequently gave Andrew permission to “step back from public duties for the foreseeable future,” per The Guardian.
January 2022: Andrew attempts to get his sexual abuse case dismissed.
Giuffre’s case against then-Prince Andrew went ahead, however, after a judge rejected the latter’s request for a dismissal. The two parties settled out of court in February for an undisclosed sum, per The Guardian. Andrew made no admission of guilt and avoided having to give evidence at the trial. He also promised to make a “substantial donation” to Giuffre’s sex trafficking charity SOAR and to “demonstrate his regret for his association” with Epstein.
That month, Queen Elizabeth II stripped her son of his military titles and royal patronages.
December 2024: Andrew gets uninvited from Christmas at Sandringham.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at the Christmas Day service in Sandringham in 2022.
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After news broke that Andrew had befriended an alleged Chinese spy, Buckingham Palace issued a rare statement clarifying King Charles’s involvement. “While His Majesty met with the Duke and his adviser to hear outline proposals for independent funding over the past year, the individual known as H6 was not mentioned at any time or in any way as part of these discussions,” they wrote.
A statement from then-Prince Andrew’s office said that he met the alleged spy “through official channels,” that they discussed “nothing of a sensitive nature,” and that he “ceased all contact” with the man on the suggestion of the government, per BBC. Andrew was subsequently instructed to skip the royal family’s annual Christmas at Sandringham.
April 2025: Virginia Giuffre dies.
In early April, Giuffre announced on Instagram that she had gone into kidney failure following a car crash. Her reps told CNN she was in “serious condition.” Australian police reported no injuries associated with the crash. The 41-year-old died on April 26 at her farm in Western Australia mere months before the release of her memoir, Nobody’s Girl. Her family issued a statement confirming the news.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia. She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking,” the statement read.
October 2025: Andrew surrenders his Duke of York title.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor departing Westminster Abbey after the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla in May 2023.
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Following the revelation that neither Andrew nor Ferguson actually ended their contact with Epstein back in 2010, the ex-couple gave up their titles of Duke and Duchess of York. Andrew made the announcement via a statement shared by Buckingham Palace on Friday, October 17, just two days after the release of Nobody’s Girl. In the book, Giuffre describes the former prince as “entitled—as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright,” per BBC.
“In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family,” Andrew wrote, per People. “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.”
“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me,” the statement continued. “As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
October 2025: Andrew’s coat of arms is removed from Windsor Castle.
In a move typically reserved for cases of treason, Andrew’s coat of arms was removed from St. George’s Chapel where it had lived next to Prince William’s. It had been displayed since 2006, when Andrew became a Knight of the Order of the Garter. Only 40 such banners have been removed in disgrace since 1348.
October 2025: Andrew is stripped of his remaining titles and privileges.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and King Charles at the Order of the Garter Service at St. George’s Chapel in June 2015.
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On October 30, 2025, Prince Andrew officially became Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor when he was stripped of his remaining titles and privileges in a history-making move by his brother, King Charles.
“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew,” a statement from the palace read at the time. “Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.”
Elsewhere in the statement, the monarch emphasized that his thoughts and “utmost sympathies” continued to remain with “the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
January 2026: Andrew is named in another trove of Epstein documents.
The U.S. Department of Justice released a second trove of the so-called Epstein files on January 30, 2026; in amongst some 3.5 million documents, both Andrew and Sarah Ferguson were named. The former Duke of York reportedly sent photos of his daughters to Epstein in the form of Christmas cards; his ex-wife, meanwhile, made inappropriate comments about Princess Eugenie in emails to Epstein.
The release of the documents also triggered rumors of a potential investigation into whether or not the former prince shared confidential trade information with Epstein during his time as the U.K.’s trade envoy.
February 2026: Andrew is evicted from Royal Lodge.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor in April 2021.
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After a years-long campaign by King Charles to remove his younger brother from Royal Lodge, the former duke (finally) left Windsor Great Park “under the cover of darkness” on February 2. According to The Times, Charles “is understood to have asked his brother to expedite the move” following the release of the second batch of Epstein files.
“Leaving was so humiliating for him that he chose to do it under the cover of darkness,” a source told the publication. “He didn’t want to have a big emotional goodbye, even though Royal Lodge is a place where he had so many family memories.”
“Theoretically he could have stayed until Marsh Farm was ready, but the headlines were only getting worse,” the insider added. “Also, the fact he’s been seen driving around Windsor laughing and looking like he hasn’t a care in the world hasn’t gone down well.”
February 2026: Andrew is arrested by British authorities.
Following the aforementioned rumors of an investigation, Andrew was arrested by British authorities roughly two weeks after he relocated to Sandringham “on suspicion of misconduct in public office.” Police raided both his current and former homes and took the disgraced royal into custody, at which point he became the first senior member of the royal family in modern history to be arrested.
King Charles wasted no time before issuing a statement. “I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office,” he said. “What now follows is the full, fair, and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities.”
“In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation,” Charles continued. “Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.”