Ghislaine Maxwell tried to set up Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with some “fun girls” while he was in Peru to represent the late Queen, emails suggest.
Claims that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor wanted a tour guide to help him do some “two-legged sight-seeing” in the South American country have emerged in the latest installment of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The documents further embarrass the former prince – something the palace may have hoped for after he was stripped of his official title in October.
They reveal that he was wanted by the FBI for questioning about his friendships with not one but two millionaire sex offenders, and will raise questions again about whether Maxwell procured girls for him.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor left the Royal Lodge in Windsor on Monday – Shutterstock
In the latest batch of more than 10,000 documents released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the word “Prince Andrew” appears more than 100 times.
There are also mentions of “HRH” and “Invisible Man”, an email moniker he was believed to be using.
As the royal family prepares to meet at Sandringham without Mr Mountbatten-Windsor for this year’s Christmas celebrations, he will again face questions about his links to the world of sex trafficking.
The documents include a series of emails between Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, and an “invisible man” – Mr Mountbatten-Windsor – signed “A”.
An email address used by the “invisible man” is linked to the former Duke of York in Epstein’s contact book.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor talks to a Peruvian firefighter during a trip to the South American country in 2002 – Getty Images
In the emails, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor discussed how “devastated” he was by his valet’s death and how he was “off track” because “not only has my office been restructured, I have left the RN. [Royal Navy] And now my whole life is in turmoil as there is no one to take care of me”.
In July 2001, a month before the exchange, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor ended his Royal Navy career after 22 years of service.
In an email, Maxwell sent a request to a man to act as the former prince’s “tour guide” in Lima during his March 2002 trip.
“He’s interested in seeing the Nazca Lines. He can ride but it’s not his favorite sport, ie get on horses,” Maxwell wrote in a forwarded email.
“A few sight seeings, some two-legged sightings (read from wise good fun and good family) and he’ll be so happy. I know I can count on you to show him a wonderful time and you’ll only introduce him to friends you can trust and be friendly and discreet and fun.”
“He doesn’t want to read in the newspapers about any trips he’s taken or what he’s seen. Call me if you have any questions—otherwise you can expect a very English-speaking gentleman on the phone to say hello.”
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Peru Emails 1
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In a reply to Maxwell on 3 March 2002, Andrew said: “I’ll call him today if I understand. Love you a xxx”.
Mountbatten-Windsor, then a member of the royal family, made an official visit to Peru to mark the 50th anniversary of the reign of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
He attended a ceremony at a British school in Lima on March 12 and visited a fire station on March 8, according to photo agencies covering his trip abroad.
In other exchanges, the “Invisible Man” mentioned being “at Balmoral summer camp for the royal family” and asked Maxwell if he had found “some new inappropriate friends” in Los Angeles.
Later that day Maxwell emailed: “Sorry to disappoint you, but truth be told. I’ve only managed to find suitable friends… Kisses Gx”.
He replied that he was “distracted”.
But while the emails may be the tip of the iceberg, the documents also reveal that the FBI asked Andrew to be interviewed about his relationship with Epstein and Maxwell.
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Peru email 2
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The documents also reveal for the first time that the FBI demanded that Mountbatten-Windsor answer questions about her relationship with Peter Nygaard, who is accused of multiple rapes, including of a 14-year-old girl. Nygaard was accused of sexually assaulting four women between the ages of 16 and 28.
It has been reported that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor took his family to visit Nygard’s Bahamas estate in 2000, before he was convicted of a Canadian sex offence.
US prosecutors wanted to know about any visits Mr Mountbatten-Windsor made to Nygaard’s property and whether he had seen girls under 18 there.
US officials also demanded to know the nature of his relationship with Nygaard, Epstein and Maxwell and whether any money changed hands between them.
Details of the questions investigators want to ask were revealed in the DoJ’s request for “mutual legal assistance” from the UK, which US prosecutors claim British authorities ignored.
It is understood that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was never interviewed in connection with the FBI investigation. He has consistently denied all wrongdoing.
Mountbatten-Windsor with Peter Nygaard in the Bahamas in 2000. Nygaard was convicted of multiple sexual assaults on women.
US police and prosecutors asked Mr Mountbatten-Windsor for all communications relating to women whom Epstein or Maxwell arranged to see him, details of any massages, and details of any legal action taken against either of them.
The FBI also called on him to provide details of “sexual encounters and/or romantic relationships involving Prince Andrew and any women he met through Maxwell and/or Epstein” and any details relating to Maxwell and the “recruitment, luring, transportation or trafficking of minors”.
The agency wanted to question whether the eighth in line knew anything about the “destruction of evidence, obstruction of the investigation, or other attempts by Epstein, Maxwell, or their associates to cover up criminal activity.”
A request for assistance sent by the DoJ in April 2020 said the US had evidence to suggest that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor knew that Maxwell, his long-time friend, was procuring girls for Epstein and his friends and that he “engaged in sexual conduct involving one of Epstein’s victims”.
The 22-page letter confirmed that the FBI was conducting two investigations about which it believed Mr Mountbatten-Windsor might have information.
It said the agency was investigating “involvement in an international sex trafficking ring that victimized adult women and underage girls” in locations including the US and the millionaire’s Bahamas estate known as “Nygard Cay”.
“The investigation revealed that, on at least one occasion, Prince Andrew traveled to Nygard Cay in the Bahamas, where Nygard is believed to have trafficked minor and adult female victims,” the DoJ disclosed.
Investigators wanted to know any dates Mr Mountbatten-Windsor visited Nygaard at his home in the Bahamas, California or New York and traveled with him, including “family members”.
British police were also told to ask “whether Prince Andrew saw any women who were under the age of 18, and the names of any of those women”.
Nygaard, 84, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for sexually assaulting four women in Toronto from 1980 to 2005. Civil proceedings alleging Nygaard raped girls as young as 14 have been stayed while the criminal investigation against him continues. Earlier, he denied all the allegations.
Regarding Epstein, US officials said they believed Mr Mountbatten Windsor “may have witnessed and/or participated in certain incidents of relevance” to the investigation into the sexual abuse of minor girls from approximately 1994 to 2005.
The request explained: “For example, one victim alleged that Maxwell introduced her to Prince Andrew who, according to the victim, was present for the victim’s interactions with Epstein and Maxwell.
“Furthermore, documentary evidence uncovered during this investigation has revealed information that Prince Andrew knew that Maxwell had recruited women to engage in sexual acts with Epstein and other men.
“Finally, there is evidence that Prince Andrew engaged in sexual conduct with one of Epstein’s victims.”
Nygard’s Bahamas estate, known as Nygard Cay, is where US documents say Mr Mountbatten-Windsor visited.
In 2015, allegations were first made public that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor had sex with Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, three times in London, New York and the disgraced financier’s private Caribbean island.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied Mr Giffre’s allegations and a civil claim brought by him in the US has been settled out of court without an admission of guilt.
But after the scandal refused to disappear, he was stripped of his royal titles in October and will be evicted from his residence at the Royal Lodge next year.
In Giuffre’s posthumous memo, the Epstein victim claimed that the former prince considered it “her birthright” to sleep with her when she was 17.
The infamous photograph, which appears to show Mr Mountbatten-Windsor with his arm around Giffrey’s waist, is also included in the latest installment of the Epstein files.
Epstein allegedly took it to Maxwell’s Belgravia home in 1999.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor with his accusers Virginia Giuffre (centre) and Ghislaine Maxwell – AFP
A 2020 FBI request confirmed that Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor “is not currently the target of any investigation” and that the agency “to date has not gathered evidence that he has committed any crimes under US law”.
The letter states: “Regarding the interview, the US authorities request that Prince Andrew be voluntarily interviewed and assist the British authorities in arranging such an interview.
“If the witness refuses to participate in a voluntary interview, the UK authorities will request that the witness be forcibly interviewed under oath.”
It is understood that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was never interviewed as part of any investigation.
The files also reveal a back-and-forth between Andrew’s lawyers and New York prosecutors in 2020, with Jeffrey Berman, the former US attorney eager to help in their investigation into Epstein after accusing Andrew of trying to “falsely portray himself.”
Mr Berman said Mr Mountbatten-Windsor had refused to schedule an interview.
Gary Bloxsome, who represented Andrew at the time, said a “publicity battle” would not serve the interests of justice and his client withdrew his support.
“We cannot advise Duke to talk to prosecutors who cannot be trusted to deal with him fairly or what he says or to deal with confidentially,” he wrote.
“He reluctantly accepted our advice that, under those circumstances, there was no purpose in serving by continuing to try to provide further assistance.”
Just two months later, prosecutors filed an official request for mutual legal assistance to try and pressure Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor to negotiate.
Mr Berman later claimed in his memoirs that, in previous cases, requests for legal aid had worked both ways.
“But that was not the case with Prince Andrew,” he wrote. “We’re nowhere. Were they protecting him? I think someone was.”
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied wrongdoing and has been approached for comment.
