Latest Epstein images shine a light on access seemingly granted by ‘useful idiot’ Andrew | Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

At Sandringham, former Prince Andrew lies in the laps of five elegantly dressed women as Ghislaine Maxwell looks on; Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein at a shooting near Balmoral; three of them look down from the royal box at Ascot.

The images are just a few of the “Epstein files” released by the US Department of Justice on Friday.

Snapshots taken at the most exclusive VIP locations provide further evidence that King Charles has no choice but to strip his controversial brother of his titles and honour, if necessary.

Because they seem to indicate the platinum access pass to the highest echelons of British society that the then-Duke of York granted this toxic couple. Every appearance of such images is a reminder to the public and, of course, a source of great discomfort for the royal family.

They argue that recently convicted sex offender Epstein and his then-girlfriend Maxwell (who is currently serving 20 years in a US prison for sex trafficking offenses) made multiple visits to the UK to see their once-royal friends.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, in his current style, is pictured reclining in a bow tie and dinner jacket on the laps of five women in the drawing room of the royal residence at Sandringham, their faces rearranged, reportedly on the occasion of Maxwell’s 39th birthday in December 2000.

In another photo, Epstein and Maxwell look out from the royal box at Ascot with Mountbatten-Windsor, who invited them as personal guests on Women’s Day in June 2000; an event attended by both the queen and the queen mother. The former prince reportedly invited the couple to stay at his Balmoral mansion in 1999 and they were photographed on the moor dressed for the part.

These are not the first images of the couple appearing in royal venues. While a photograph taken at the Balmoral lodge during Maxwell’s trial in the United States was published by the court, a photograph taken in 2002 of Maxwell and actor Kevin Spacey, said to be sitting on thrones at Buckingham Palace, was previously made public.

But the latest photos released together reinforce the incredible reach that Epstein and Maxwell gained through this friendship.

According to royal biographer Tina Brown, The late financier saw the former duke as a “stupid” but “useful” man. In his 2022 book, The Palace Papers, he wrote that Epstein admitted to a friend that he had flown to Mountbatten-Windsor to cover foreign markets where governments were obliged to accept him, and that he had acted with him as Epstein’s investment adviser. “With Andrew as his frontman, Epstein can make deals with these (mostly) questionable players,” he wrote.

Brown argued that Epstein “skillfully exploited” Mountbatten-Windsor’s “sense of grievance” at being Charles’ understudy. Epstein, he wrote, “made Andrew feel like he was joining the big time – the deals, the girls, the plane, the glitzy New York world, where he was not seen as a grown man still beholden to his mother’s private purses or the rigid pecking order of the palace.”

This year, in his book titled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, biographer Andrew Lownie described Mountbatten-Windsor as “easy prey for a rattlesnake like Epstein”. He wrote: “Epstein played Andrew. The Prince was a useful fool who gave him respect, access to political leaders and business opportunities. He found him easy to exploit.”

Lownie also quoted US businessman Steven Hoffenberg, a convicted fraudster who was said to be Epstein’s “mentor”, as saying Andrew was Epstein’s “Super Bowl trophy”.

As the latest episode of the “Epstein files” aired, Mountbatten-Windsor was photographed cycling at the Royal Lodge in Windsor. He will soon be evicted from this home and move to a private home on the Sandringham estate next year – another privilege lost as a result of his hugely destructive friendship with Epstein and Maxwell.

The former Duke has always denied allegations that he had sex with Epstein’s employee Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April. He has since faced calls from Democrats in the US Congress to provide evidence to a committee investigating Epstein’s activities, but did not respond by a deadline last month.