Prince Andrew faces allegations in newly released Epstein court documents

Prince Andrew has been mentioned more than 70 times in 1,000 pages of interviews and transcripts released in the US.

The recent release of documents in connection with a 2015 defamation case brought by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell have brought the names of more than 170 people who were either associates, friends, or victims of Epstein to light. Among these names is Prince Andrew, who has been mentioned more than 70 times in nearly 1,000 pages of interviews and transcripts. The documents have reignited scrutiny over Andrew's friendship with convicted sex offender Epstein, who he has previously denied allegations from. Andrew paid millions to settle a civil case out of court with Ms Giuffre with no admission of guilt, after she accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. Disgraced British socialite Maxwell was jailed for sex trafficking young girls for Epstein.

The documents contain evidence from Johanna Sjoberg, who worked for Epstein as a masseuse, which alleges that Andrew touched her breast while posing for a photo with a caricature of himself in 2001. Other mentions of him include previous allegations that Epstein "forced Jane Doe #3 to have sexual relations with a member of the British Royal Family, Prince Andrew (a/k/a Duke of York)".

Ms Giuffre has claimed she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17 and a minor under US law at Maxwell's London home, in Epstein's New York home, and during an orgy on Epstein at a Caribbean island. She was questioned over the whereabouts of a famous photograph showing her with Prince Andrew, who has his arm around her, with Maxwell grinning in the background. Among the documents appears to be an email sent by Maxwell expressing her fears she would be questioned about her own relationship to Andrew.

In Maxwell's videotaped deposition in 2016, she claimed she could only recall him visiting Jeffrey Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands once. She stated that there were no girls under the age of 18 present on that one occasion.