Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother Ian speaks up for Andrew: Says royal is ‘single man’, his sex trafficker sister ‘is on the right side of history’ and Virginia Giuffre was ‘a monster’

The brother of sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell has spoken out in support of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, claiming his sister is on the ‘right side of history’ and describing pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s victim Virginia Giuffre as a ‘monster’.

Ian Maxwell, 69, has launched into a shameless defense of his sister, 64, a British socialite who was sentenced to 20 years behind bars for child sex trafficking and other sexual offences, and is now languishing in a US prison cell.

Speaking on the day the former prince was arrested on suspicion of abusing public office, Mr Maxwell admitted his behavior was ‘shoddy’ but criticized the Royal Family for leaving him ‘completely isolated’.

Describing Andrew, 66, as a ‘single man’, she said: ‘The things he did or did not do with various women were sleazy, humiliating for him and embarrassing for the royal family. But there he is, kicked out of his home, completely isolated, and unlike Ghislaine, he doesn’t even have a family to support him.’

He noted that the former duke has not been accused of any sexual offences, as he criticized the Royal Family for not providing sufficient support to Andrew.

It comes after Andrew was stripped of all royal titles and privileges due to his links to convicted pedophile Epstein, before being evicted from Royal Lodge, his 30-room mansion on the Windsor estate.

He was arrested at his new home, Wood Farm, on the Sandringham estate, on Thursday and held for nearly 11 hours before being released.

Turning to his sister, Mr. Maxwell appeared to maintain his innocence in the interview. Telegramdescribes him as Epstein’s “fall guy.”

Ghislaine Maxwell (left) photographed with her parents Robert and Elisabeth Maxwell

Ian Maxwell, 69, (pictured) launches shameless defense of sex offender sister Ghislaine, saying she is on the ‘right side of history’

The son of businessman and publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell added that his case was unfair, claiming Ghislaine would ‘be free’ if Epstein, who died in a New York prison cell in 2019, was still alive.

Epstein’s ex-girlfriend was convicted in 2021 of five sex crimes, including trafficking of underage girls, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

He has since tried to appeal his convictions many times without success.

Although his brother acknowledges that many young women were harmed by Epstein, he continues to claim that many of them were over the legal age of consent and therefore had ‘act’.

Epstein is accused of trafficking 14-year-old girls around the world for himself and others with the help of Ghislaine.

Mr Maxwell went so far as to claim ‘feminists’ should support his sister because of her ‘terrible’ treatment.

‘I believe my sister is on the right side of history,’ he added.

The businessman also branded Andrew’s main accuser, Virginia Giuffre, a ‘monster’ and claimed she lied about being sexually harassed.

Maxwell, 64, was convicted of sex trafficking of minors and other crimes at a 2021 trial.

Ghislaine Maxwell wrote a draft statement that she sent to pedophilia financier Epstein, confirming that she introduced Andrew to Giuffre when they were teenagers.

Andrew agreed a £12 million out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre in 2022, in which he admitted no wrongdoing.

She claimed she was kidnapped by Epstein and Maxwell and forced to have sex with the then duke on three occasions when she was 17, including at Ghislaine’s London mansion and the financier’s private island.

Ms. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025, at the age of 41, leaving behind three children.

“I know who the monster here is, and it’s not my sister, it’s Virginia Giuffre and her lies, which have had devastating consequences for Ghislaine,” Mr Maxwell said. ‘I didn’t shed a single tear when he died.’

As for his sister’s future, Mr Maxwell vowed to continue fighting to have her sister’s convictions overturned and said he could write a ‘great book’ about her experiences.

Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing in his dealings with Epstein.

In his infamous Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis in 2019, he denied meeting Ms Giuffre and hinted that a photo of the two of them together may have been doctored.

But emails in the latest Epstein files contradict his claims. The Daily Mail revealed earlier this month that sex offender Maxwell not only introduced Andrew to Ms Giuffre but also stated “for the record as a matter of fact” that the photo was taken at her home the same night.

Maxwell’s brother claims Epstein was ‘fall man’ after death awaiting trial in 2019

Ms. Giuffre (pictured) died by suicide in April 2025, aged 41, leaving behind three children.

In a series of emails released in 2015 in a tranche of more than three million documents related to Epstein, disgraced socialite Maxwell sent him an email asking for her approval.

He had drafted a statement designed to respond to allegations in the press: ‘I was in London in 2001 and met a few friends, including (redacted) Prince Andrew.

‘A photo was taken which I think he wanted to show to his friends and family.’

He added to the contents of the email: ‘For the record,’ before continuing: ‘Prince Andrew came to my house to visit me – (redacted) was at the house and they met.’

The redactions are believed to refer to Ms. Giuffre.

Ms Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, told BBC Newsnight that the correspondence ‘really vindicated’ his sister.

‘This shows that not only was he not lying the whole time, he was telling the truth, even though many people from many countries stated that he was lying.’