Scottish Police Open Inquiries Into Andrew and Epstein’s Stay at Balmoral

Police Scotland said Friday that it is making inquiries into the time former Prince Andrew spent with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at the king’s private Balmoral estate, according to ABC News and Al Jazeera. The force described the inquiries as being at a “very early stage.”

Police did not say what offenses officers are examining or what the information they received contains. Andrew, who now uses the name Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has repeatedly denied committing any crimes.

What police have said

In a statement, Police Scotland said it had received information and that active inquiries were under way. The force said all inquiries are evidence-led, with the needs of victim survivors at the heart of them. It added that it would never confirm details of ongoing inquiries and that further comment would be inappropriate.

The Daily Express was first to report the investigation, according to Al Jazeera. The paper said the inquiries relate to claims that women were trafficked to the estate in the Scottish Highlands. Police Scotland has not confirmed that.

The 1999 visit at the center of the inquiries

The Guardian reported that Epstein and Maxwell stayed at Balmoral in 1999 as reported guests of Andrew. Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from girls and has since died. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking a minor.

Images released by the U.S. Department of Justice appear to show Andrew and Epstein on a shooting trip at the estate. Al Jazeera reported that the photographs were among millions of pages of documents the department published earlier this year while Congress examined Epstein’s links to politicians, business leaders and other influential people. The outlet noted that the presence of anyone’s name or image in the files is not proof of wrongdoing.

Other police investigations tied to the Epstein files

Several other British police forces are also looking into material from the files, including the Metropolitan Police, Thames Valley Police and Surrey Police, the National Police Chiefs’ Council confirmed, as reported by the Guardian. The council said identifying further potential offending, suspects, victims or witnesses is a complex process that will take time. It said there is no national investigation at present.

In February, Thames Valley officers arrested Andrew on suspicion of misconduct in public office, according to Al Jazeera. The Guardian reported that the arrest came on Feb. 19, his 66th birthday, after allegations that he shared sensitive information with Epstein while serving as a British trade envoy. He was held for several hours and released while the investigation continued. It was the first time in nearly four centuries that a senior British royal had been arrested, according to ABC News and Al Jazeera.

Why it matters

For readers following the Epstein files, the Scottish inquiry shows that material released by U.S. authorities is still producing new police activity abroad. It is a separate line of inquiry from the misconduct case, and it concerns a stay at a royal residence rather than Andrew’s former trade role.

It also keeps pressure on the monarchy. Al Jazeera reported that Andrew’s links to Epstein have troubled the royal family for almost two decades, and that King Charles III moved late last year to shield the monarchy by stripping his brother of his princely title. Andrew was also ordered to leave the Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle and now lives in a house at Sandringham, the king’s privately owned estate in eastern England.

No charges have been announced in either investigation. Because Police Scotland has said the inquiries are at an early stage and has declined to give details, it is not known whether they will lead to any further action.

Around Prague, based on reporting by The Guardian, ABC News, Al Jazeera