Ex-Prince Andrew was ‘very helpful’ to Jeffrey Epstein, claims biographer

A royal biographer believes predator Jeffrey Epstein got exactly what he wanted from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — legitimacy, cachet and access.

In a new interview with The Daily Beast‘s “The Royalist” podcast, author Andrew Lownie explained that the former Duke of York was “very, very helpful” to Epstein because of the credibility and connections he brought to the table by virtue of being a royal.

Lownie is back in the spotlight as he prepares to release the paperback edition of his 2025 book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, which includes a 10,000-word update. He shared new insights on the May 12 episode hosted by Daily Beast royals editor Tom Sykes.

Royal access

Author Andrew Lownie said he spoke with a woman who alleged that Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh — who began dating Prince Edward in 1993 and married him in 1999 — had dinner with Jeffrey Epstein in 1994. By: MEGA

“What did Epstein see in Andrew?” Sykes asked Lownie, who claimed the disgraced financier, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on trafficking charges, “had targeted several royal families” — not just the British royals.

“[Epstein] saw him as someone who gave Epstein credibility, gave him access to various people, not least perhaps other members of the royal family,” Lownie said, adding that he’s heard “stories that perhaps other members of the royal family may have been involved with Epstein.”

Lownie said he spoke with one woman who alleged that Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, had dinner with Epstein in 1994 — a claim that led him to believe the scandal could expand beyond Mountbatten-Windsor.

“…I think for Epstein, Andrew was very, very helpful,” Lownie said. “You know, the kudos of being able to have pictures of him sitting on the throne in Buckingham Palace or going up to Sandringham… It was a useful sort of negotiating tool with other people. You know, ‘I can arrange a shooting weekend up in Sandringham.’ And so he was… always leveraging everything.”

Lownie also suggested that Epstein’s interest in powerful figures was part of a broader operation.

“It’s an intriguing story that we think is ostensibly about girls being brought in but the girls are only really part of a wider plan to compromise financial, political and other figures in order to take secrets out of them or blackmail them,” Lownie told Sykes.

No charges?

“I think the scandal may grow beyond just Andrew [Mountbatten-Windsor],” author Andrew Lownie told “The Royalist” podcast host Tom Sykes. By: ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA

Mountbatten-Windsor’s fall from grace has been epic.

In late 2025, amid renewed scrutiny of his relationship with Epstein, King Charles III stripped his brother of his royal titles. In early 2026, he pushed his brother out of Royal Lodge, the Crown Estate mansion he’d called home for more than two decades.

And in February, Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office weeks after the U.S. Department of Justice released emails suggesting he passed sensitive government documents to Epstein while serving as Britain’s trade envoy.

The investigation is continuing, but according to Lownie, the disgraced ex-royal may ultimately evade accountability.

“We’re already being prepared for no charges to be laid,” he said. “The last thing the royal family want is all their dirty linen aired in public.”