London: Police are investigating concerns that young women were “trafficked” to the royal estate at Balmoral when convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein visited the Scottish castle to see his friend, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Scottish Police confirmed they received information that led them to launch the inquiry, adding a new investigation to those already involving the former prince.
Epstein and his friend Ghislaine Maxwell gained access to several royal estates over many years through their friendship with the prince, as he was at the time.
Police Scotland said the inquiries were at a “very early stage” and were ongoing.
“All inquiries are evidence-led, with the needs of victim survivors at the heart of those inquiries,” police said in a statement.
“We would never confirm details of ongoing inquiries, and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
The Scottish Daily Express revealed the police concerns, and said the inquiries were understood to relate to claims that women were “trafficked” to the royal estate in the Scottish Highlands, a favourite retreat for Queen Elizabeth and her family.
King Charles responded to years of concerns about Mountbatten-Windsor by removing his title as Duke of York late last year, removing other honours and reaching an arrangement by which his brother would no longer be known as a prince.
Mountbatten-Windsor has insisted many times he is innocent of any wrongdoing. The statement from Police Scotland makes no allegation against him.
Epstein was charged in 2006 and negotiated a plea deal with prosecutors that led to most of the charges being dropped. He was found guilty of soliciting a minor for prostitution and spent time in prison and under house arrest before he emerged in 2010.
Epstein and Maxwell were photographed at Balmoral during a visit in 1999.
One of the young women who worked for Epstein told The Daily Mail six years ago that she had joined him on a visit to Balmoral in the middle of 1999.
Epstein and his entourage visited the Scottish estate as part of a week-long trip to the UK, the Daily Mail reported. The group also stayed at Maxwell’s home in London during the trip.
One year later, in June 2000, Epstein and Maxwell attended a party at Windsor Castle hosted by the Queen to mark a series of birthdays for her family, including Mountbatten-Windsor’s 40th birthday.
Epstein and Maxwell were also photographed at Sandringham in 2000, when they went pheasant-shooting at the royal estate.
Entries in the infamous birthday book given to Epstein in 2003, when he turned 50, also suggest that he and his friends went to Buckingham Palace. One of Epstein’s assistants at the time, a young woman photographed in a bikini, wrote in the birthday book about meeting Prince Andrew and visiting Buckingham Palace.
Epstein gained access to the royal grounds at Windsor with Maxwell and disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein in 2006.
The three visitors were photographed at Mountbatten-Windsor’s home, Royal Lodge, during the early stages of an 18th birthday celebration for his daughter, Princess Beatrice, in 2006.
The image highlighted the ties between the prince and three people who were later convicted of serious crimes, ranging from Epstein’s guilty plea for sex with a minor to Weinstein’s convictions for multiple sexual assaults and Maxwell’s convictions for trafficking girls.
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