A bombshell new biography of Prince Andrew has exposed devastating allegations about the Duke of York’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, claiming their ties began earlier and ran deeper than previously known.
Andrew Lownie’s Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, published on 14 August, reveals that Prince Andrew’s connections to Epstein stretched back to the early 1990s, contradicting the Duke’s own timeline. The book, based on four years of research and hundreds of interviews, paints an unflattering portrait of a prince described by diplomats as “His Buffoon Highness” and documents his descent from Falklands war hero to royal pariah.
The 450-page biography alleges that Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell worked together to build a dossier on Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused the Duke of sexual assault when she was 17. According to Lownie’s sources, emails between Andrew and Maxwell showed them planning to “leak to the media” damaging information about Giuffre, who tragically took her own life in April this year aged 41.
Royal historian Ed Owens said the revelations come at a particularly difficult time for the monarchy. “This isn’t good for the monarchy,” he told reporters. King Charles and Prince William have sought to limit the reputational damage Andrew can have on ‘brand Windsor’.
The book’s most shocking claims include testimony from Ivan Novikov, who allegedly served as Epstein’s driver. Novikov is quoted as saying: “Whenever Andrew was in town, I’d be picking up young girls who were essentially prostitutes.”
Paris-based journalist Peter Allen, one of the book’s sources, attributed many of Andrew’s problems to his “flawed character”. Allen said: “He’s been afforded every type of privilege, all his life, while displaying very poor judgement and getting into highly compromising situations.”
The biography also reveals extraordinary details about Andrew’s personal life, including claims he lost his virginity aged 11, which one unnamed source characterised as “a form of abuse”. Former naval colleagues described him as “bombastic” on the outside but “vulnerable and socially awkward” beneath, suggesting his privileged upbringing left him unsure how to behave around others.
Lownie’s research indicates Andrew’s relationship with Epstein operated on deeply unequal terms. A friend of the Duke described their dynamic as “like putting a rattlesnake in an aquarium with a mouse”, with the book suggesting Epstein’s operation was ultimately “a form of blackmail” designed to hold power over prominent figures.
Prince Harry has already taken legal action against publications serialising the book, with his spokesperson stating: “I can confirm Prince Harry and Prince Andrew have never had a physical fight, nor did Prince Andrew ever make the comments he is alleged to have made about the Duchess of Sussex to Prince Harry.
The Daily Mail dubbed the work “the most devastating royal biography ever written”, and it has already rocketed to the top of Amazon’s bestseller charts. Royal commentator Pauline Maclaran believes the book “appears to seal the fate of Andrew if he was ever hoping to be reinstated officially into the working royals”.
“The public will be wanting to see some clear action on the King’s part I think, particularly as Andrew’s connections to Epstein are raked over again,” Professor Maclaran added.
Former staff members quoted in the book paint a picture of extreme entitlement and rudeness. One protection officer recalled Andrew “bawling someone out as an ‘imbecile’ for not using the Queen Mother’s full title”. Others claim he moved people from jobs for wearing nylon ties or having facial moles.
The biography also chronicles Andrew’s financial dealings, detailing his connections to “Libyan gun runners and relations of dictators to a Chinese spy”. Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told reporters: “Prince Andrew remains an embarrassment to the royal family. No one has forgotten his infamous ‘Newsnight’ interview or the photograph with Epstein.”
Sarah Ferguson, who still lives with Andrew at Royal Lodge despite their 1996 divorce, is also examined in detail. The book depicts her caught in “an endless loop of binge spending, debt and then convoluted deals” whilst maintaining what they call being “divorced to each other, not from each other”.
Biographer Nigel Cawthorne, author of Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palace, said the Duke would be breathing a sigh of relief following recent FBI confirmation that no Epstein “client list” exists. “He’s off the hook isn’t he,” Cawthorne said. “The whole thing’s run out of steam.”
However, royal correspondent Richard Palmer warned the scandal refuses to disappear. “It’s a scandal that just won’t go away for the Royal Family, even though they’ve tried to distance themselves from Andrew,” he said. The book’s publication coincides with renewed scrutiny of Epstein’s connections as “Donald Trump is facing serious questions about his own friendship with the late paedophile.
Neither Buckingham Palace nor representatives for Prince Andrew have responded to requests for comment about the book’s allegations.
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Image Credit (Shortened):
Prince Andrew at the National Memorial Arboretum (Sept 2011) – by Thorne1983, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
