The Duke,62,indicated that he had only met the billionaire financier once following his June 2008 conviction for soliciting and procuring an underage girl for prostitution.
Prince Andrew in the “disastrous” BBC interview about his friendship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.Courtesy BBC
That meeting took place in December 2010,when the two men were photographed strolling through Central Park in New York during a visit the Duke said he had organised “to show leadership” and solely to break off the friendship,only staying at his mansion for several days because “it was a convenient place to stay”.
However,court papers suggest the pair had lunch in June that year while Epstein was under a 12-month house arrest order at his Florida mansion and that they had kept in regular touch.
‘Ask Andrew about the island’
“Andrew just sat next to me at dinner,” the sex offender wrote in an email dated June 14,2010. “We will try to connect this week.”
Jeffrey Epstein spent 13 months in prison after his 2008 conviction and a year of house arrest.AP
However,the Court Circular’s record of the Duke’s schedule suggests it would have been difficult for him to get to Florida within a month of that date.
Epstein spent 13 months in prison after his 2008 conviction and then began a year of house arrest,which ended in July 2010.
The court documents have been made public as part of a civil case brought by the US Virgin Islands government against JP Morgan in New York.
One section,titled Prince Andrew,Duke of York,contains snippets from a series of emails sent between the Duke,Epstein and Jes Staley,the banking giant’s then chief executive.
JPMorgan Chase announces tentative settlement with sex trafficking victims.
They suggest that the Duke was in regular contact with Epstein throughout 2010 and beyond.
On June 24,2009,the financier wrote to Staley:“Ask Andrew about the island,tell him about your boat plans.”
The document notes that the message appears to be a reference to the Duke,with whom both men “appear to speak and meet with on a number of occasions”.
On April 15,Epstein wrote to the Duke:“jes staley will be in london on thurs the 22.. i think you should meet if you are in town.”
Prince Andrew replied stating that he was unavailable but would look to visit New York in the near future.
On August 29,2010,Epstein wrote to Staley “andrew will call tim,if you give me the numbers”. It was said to be a reference to Tim Collins,the chief executive of Ripplewood Holdings.
On September 2,2010,Epstein wrote again to Staley stating:“About to connect with Andrew.”
On February 28,2011,months after the Duke had visited Epstein in New York to end their friendship over his conviction as a sex offender,the financier wrote to Staley:“Andrew asked for your London schedule.”
Prince Andrew and his daughter Princess Eugenie ahead of the coronation ceremony of King Charles III in May.PA
Other messages suggest that Epstein acted as an intermediary between the Duke and Collins,helping to facilitate business dealings.
On December 2,2010,he forwarded an email to Staley from the Duke with an inquiry he had received from Aria Petroleum looking for a $US200 million (£155.4 million) working capital line.
“Since the company is based in the US,Prince Andrew appeared to suggest Epstein connect them with a US bank,” the document notes.
The email was sent just days before the Duke was photographed in the doorway of Epstein’s Manhattan mansion during the trip he had made to end their friendship.
‘I ceased contact’
During the BBCNewsnight interview,he told the journalist Emily Maitlis:“I ceased contact with[Epstein] after I was aware that he was under investigation and that was later in 2006 and I wasn’t in touch with him again until 2010.”
Asked to clarify that there had been no contact,he added:“No contact.”
The Duke said he had “always questioned” himself as to why he decided to travel to New York to end their friendship.
“I took the judgment call that because this was serious and I felt that doing it over the telephone was the chicken’s way of doing it,” he said.
“I had to go and see him and talk to him.”
Maitlis then asked whether that visit was the only time the Duke saw Epstein after he was convicted,adding:“Did you see him or speak to him again?”
The Duke said:“No.”
The Court Circular shows that on June 14,2010,the Duke attended Garter Day celebrations in Windsor and two days’ prior he was at Trooping the Colour. He was in Russia on official business from June 8-10 and received guests at Buckingham Palace on June 2,3,4 and 11,when he later attended a performance of Swan Lake at the English National Ballet. On June 7,he was in Wellingborough and Birmingham.
From May 24-28 inclusive,he had official engagements every day in the UK and from May 17-20 was in Malaysia.
Sources close to the Duke declined to comment,although friends say he has been emphatic in his denials over contact with Epstein and insist the financier used his name to try to rehabilitate himself.
The Telegraph,London
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