“Active enquiries are ongoing, but these are at a very early stage.” That was all a Police Scotland spokesperson would tell CNN on Friday about a new inquiry into the time Jeffrey Epstein spent at Balmoral, the King’s private estate in the Highlands, as a guest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The force gave nothing more. It said every enquiry is “evidence-led, with the needs of victim survivors at the heart” of it, that it never confirms details of live inquiries, and that further comment would be inappropriate. The Daily Express filled in some of the gap, reporting that the inquiries relate to claims that women were “trafficked” to the estate.
The 1999 visit
Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell stayed at Balmoral in 1999, reportedly on the invitation of the man then known as Prince Andrew. A photograph of the pair outside the Glen Beg log cabin was shown at Maxwell’s trial for sex trafficking; she is serving 20 years. US Department of Justice pictures also appear to show Andrew and Epstein on a shooting trip there.
Bruno Holper (CC BY 3.0)
The files released by the Justice Department last year add more. One email from August 2001, signed “A,” says the writer is at “Balmoral Summer Camp for the Royal Family” and asks Maxwell: “Have you found me some new inappropriate friends?” Andrew had left the Royal Navy the month before. Flight logs from Epstein’s jet show Andrew travelling from Luton to Edinburgh with Maxwell on 1 September 2006, and in February Police Scotland appealed for information about that flight. A name in these papers is not proof of wrongdoing.
Other forces, other inquiries
Scotland is not alone. The National Police Chiefs’ Council has confirmed that Thames Valley Police, the Metropolitan Police and Surrey Police all have live investigations linked to the Epstein files release.
Andrew himself was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on 19 February, his 66th birthday. Police were looking into allegations that he passed sensitive information to Epstein while serving as Britain’s trade envoy. He was interviewed under caution and released under investigation, and that inquiry continues. He has denied any wrongdoing throughout.
Asked about the Balmoral story, Andy Burnham told reporters it was a matter for the police, “which should properly be independent.”
A long fall
The stripping of Andrew’s status has been gradual. In 2022 he settled a US civil suit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who said she had been trafficked to him; he paid without admitting liability, and the Queen took away his military affiliations and patronages. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025. Last year King Charles removed his remaining styles and honours, including the title of prince and his dukedom. He left Royal Lodge, and now lives at Marsh Farm on the Sandringham estate.
Buckingham Palace has said it does not speak for him and does not comment on active police investigations. Balmoral has belonged to the royal family since 1852. Queen Elizabeth II died there in 2022.
Sources
- Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
- Police probe Jeffrey Epstein’s time spent at Balmoral with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor | CNN
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Photo: Titanic Belfast (CC BY 2.0)
