A stern-faced Prince Andrew was spotted for the first time today following the publication of previously unseen emails between him and Jeffrey Epstein.
The Duke of York, 64, was seen riding his horse through Windsor Great Park accompanied by a companion – having driven there in his Range Rover.
His outing comes just hours after the emergence of an email he sent to Epstein saying ‘we’ll play more soon’.
Andrew claimed that he had cut off the paedophile financier after they were seen walking through Central Park together in December 2010 – not long after Epstein had been released from an 18-month jail sentence for child prostitution offences.
However, new emails revealed in court filings show the pair talking over email for months after – until at least late February 2011.
They even corresponded on the day a now-infamous photo of Andrew and then 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre was published.
The teenager, who he had his arm around in the 2001 picture, claims she was sex-trafficked by Epstein.
After discussing press reports the under-fire Prince said: ‘keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!’, as reported by Bloomberg.
The Duke of York, 64, was seen riding his horse through Windsor Great Park accompanied by a companion
He had driven into the park in his dark green Range Rover
Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. The death was ruled a suicide
The royal reportedly paid Giuffre £13million to settle her sex assault civil claim out of court without admission of wrongdoing.
Now 41, she had claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17 after being trafficked by Epstein, something he has always denied.
Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. The death was ruled a suicide.
In November 2019, Andrew gave an interview to BBC’s Newsnight about his friendship with Epstein. He was asked by Ms Maitlis: ‘Was that visit, December of 2010 the only time you saw him after he was convicted?’ to which he replied: ‘Yes, yeah.’
She asked him: ‘Did you see him or speak to him again?’ To which he replied: ‘No.’
Andrew claimed the visit to see Epstein was to tell him they could no longer be friends. He told Maitlis by ‘mutual agreement during that walk in the park we decided that we would part company and I left, I think it was the next day and to this day I never had any contact with him from that day forward’.
The emails were revealed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as they defend an appeal by Jes Staley.
Andrew is not referred to by name in the legal filing by the FCA, but only identified as ‘a member of the British royal family’. Other court documents confirm they knew each other and Epstein had arranged for them to meet repeatedly.
They even corresponded on the day a now-infamous photo of Andrew and then 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre was published. The teenager, who he had his arm around in the 2001 picture, claims she was sex-trafficked by Epstein. Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell is also seen here in the photo
Andrew – who was criticised for staying with Epstein in his £60million Manhattan house during the trip – insisted in a disastrous BBC interview with Emily Maitlis, pictured here with Andrew, that it was the last time he had contact with him
Melania Trump, Prince Andrew, Gwendolyn Beck and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida in 2000
The emails were revealed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as they defend an appeal by Jes Staley (pictured)
Staley, the 68-year-old former Barclays boss, was banned from the UK finance industry and fined £1.8 million in 2023 for having ‘recklessly misled’ the regulator by allowing the bank’s board to downplay his interactions with Epstein.
The FCA claim that in 2018 Staley said that he ‘did not have a close relationship’ with Epstein but emails describe him as one of his ‘deepest’ and ‘most cherished’ friends, The Times reports.
Despite previous claims the emails reportedly show him in contact with the financier in the days before he was appointed Barclays chief.
The filing further shows that Lord Mandelson – now the new ambassador in Washington – stayed in contact with Epstein until at least August 2012, The Times reports.
He sent Staley a note called ‘CityUK and the future of the financial sector’ – later forwarding this on to the financier saying ‘Below is something I forwarded to your boy’.
The former Labour business, trade and Northern Ireland secretary appears to have stayed with Epstein in New York in the same year. The American emailed Staley in May saying: ‘Peter Mandelson here at 5 — staying a couple of days.’
MailOnline has contacted Prince Andrew and Lord Mandelson for comment.
