Among the many mentions of the former Prince Andrew, nowAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor, in the Epstein files, a few jump to the top of the pile. They include photos of King Charles III's younger brother with young women whose faces have been redacted by federal prosecutors, emails demonstrating his lengthy friendship with the disgraced financier and concerns from law enforcement that he wasn't cooperating with ongoing investigations.
Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, as he's known since he wasstripped of his titlesand most of his royal duties last fall, has faced intense scrutiny over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convictedsex offenderwho died awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He has denied any wrongdoing and said he regrets the friendship.
The more than 3 million pages of documents released by the Justice Department, in the wake of a nearly unanimous transparency mandate by Congress, show the former prince maintained regular contact with the wealth manager for more than two years after Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to sex crimes. The DOJ has acknowledged that it has another 3 million pages of documents that it does not intend to make public.
Disgraced former royal Andrew, the former Duke of York, has became a source of embarrassment for his brother King Charles III following a 2019 TV interview in which Andrew defended his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was stripped of his military titles in 2022 and senior royal status, shuffled off into retirement after being sued by Virginia Giuffre, an American woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. Andrew renounced his royal titles and honors amid continued scrutiny over his Epstein connections, despite denying all allegations against him. British police arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public life, according to multiple news outlets in the United Kingdom on Feb. 19, 2026. Look back at his life in the royal family, including here as Andrew arrives for the Requiem Mass service for Katharine, Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral on Sept. 16, 2025, in London." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Queen Elizabeth II and her family traveling to Sandringham in the back of their car, with Prince Andrew on her lap, the Duke of Edinburgh to her left with Princess Anne on his lap, and Prince Charles waving, arriving at Liverpool Street Station in London on Jan. 27, 1966." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Queen Elizabeth II stands next to her son Prince Andrew as they listen to speeches during a visit to Imperial College in London on June 24, 2004. They officiated at the opening of the new Tanaka Business School." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Prince Andrew attends a luncheon in Hong Kong in March 2006. As United Kingdom's representative for International Trade and Investment, Prince Andrew visited China for four days to promote trade and investment links. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Prince Andrew laughs during a reception with business leaders on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 22, 2015. Prince Andrew spoke at the Davos annual meeting to "reaffirm" official denials of claims he had sex with an underaged girl employed by American billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Prince Andrew speaks with military personnel during a reception at the Honourable Artillery Company following the Afghanistan service of commemoration at St. Paul's Cathedral on March 13, 2015, in London." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Prince Andrew attends the London Global African Investment Summit at St James' Palace on Dec. 1, 2015, in London." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Prince Andrew reacts as he greets members of the public gathered outside of Balmoral Castle on Sept. 10, 2022, two days after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died at the age of 96." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Prince William, Prince Andrew and Princess Kate leave following a funeral service for the Duchess of Kent." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Prince Andrew and King Charles III leave following a funeral service for Katharine, Duchess of Kent." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
A photo of Prince Andrew hangs on the wall where British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets U.S. President Donald Trump at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 28, 2025, in Turnberry, Scotland." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Copies of the biography "Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York" by Andrew Lownie about Prince Andrew are displayed on the day of its release at Waterstones' flagship store in London on Aug. 14, 2025." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Sarah, Duchess of York, and ex-husband Prince Andrew arrive for the Requiem Mass service for Katharine, Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral on Sept. 16, 2025, in London." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> See disgraced royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's life of affluence
Disgraced former royal Andrew, the former Duke of York, has became a source of embarrassment for his brother King Charles III following a 2019 TV interview in which Andrew defended his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was stripped of his military titles in 2022 and senior royal status, shuffled off into retirement after being sued by Virginia Giuffre, an American woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. Andrew renounced his royal titles and honors amid continued scrutiny over his Epstein connections, despite denying all allegations against him. British police arrestedAndrew Mountbatten-Windsoron suspicion of misconduct in public life, according to multiple news outlets in the United Kingdom on Feb. 19, 2026.Look back at his life in the royal family, including here as Andrew arrives for the Requiem Mass service for Katharine, Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral on Sept. 16, 2025, in London.
British police arrested the former princeon Feb. 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public life, according to multiple news outlets in the United Kingdom. British police said earlier this month that officers were considering allegations that the king's brother passed confidential government documents to Epstein.
What images of former Prince Andrew appear in the Epstein files?
In photos released by the DOJ on Jan. 30, Mountbatten-Windsor isbending over and touching the waistand stomach of a fully clothed woman lying on her back on the floor. In a second photograph, he is on his hands and knees, crouching over the woman, whose face has been redacted.
More:Prince. Epstein. Arrest. How Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor fell from grace
Among a previous batch of files produced by the Justice Department on Dec. 19 is one of the former royal with Epstein's associateGhislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking. The image shows a suited Mountbatten-Windsor lying on his side across the laps of five women, whose faces have been obscured by DOJ staffers. Maxwell stands behind them, smiling down.
Like other items in the document release, the DOJ did not provide context for the photos, including when and where they were taken.
The 'Invisible Man' seeking 'new inappropriate friends'
Among the thousands of pages of documents released on Dec. 23, 2025, is a 2001 email exchange from a person using the alias "The Invisible Man," who signs off as "A" while writing to Epstein associate Maxwell that "I am up here atBalmoral Summer Camp for the Royal Family."
Balmoral was the beloved summer residence of Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland, and a gathering place for the royal family retreats.
"How's LA?" the email reads. "Have you found me some new inappropriate friends? Let me know when you are coming over as I am free from 25th August until 2nd Sept. and want to go somewhere hot and sunny with some fun people before having to put my nose firmly to the grindstone for the Fall. Any ideas gratefully received!"
"See ya A xxx," the email concludes. The files did not confirm whether "The Invisible Man" wasMountbatten-Windsor. Other emails forwarded to "The Invisible Man" refer to him as "Andrew."
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More:Live updates – Former Prince Andrew arrested; King Charles speaks out
Another 2002 email shows "Gx," which is how Maxwell often signed emails in the files, writing to another person that "I just gave Andrew your" phone number and asking this person to set him up on a trip to Peru. "Gx" says to expect a call from a "very English sounding gentleman" and asks the person to "show him a wonderful time" and "only introduce him to friends that you can trust and rely on to be friendly and discreet and fun." This email was forwarded by "Gx" to "The Invisible Man," who replied, "Got it I will ring him today if I can."
Law enforcement communication
A document dated April 2020 in the Dec. 23, 2025 release shows that the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI sought to interview Mountbatten-Windsor because an ongoing Epstein investigation "revealed that Prince Andrew may have been a witness to and/or participant in certain events of relevance to the ongoing investigation."
The document notes, though, that he "is not presently a target of the investigation, and U.S. authorities have not, to date, gathered evidence that he has committed any crime under U.S. law."
Another series of emails shows U.S. diplomatic and law enforcement officials were troubled in August 2021 whenMountbatten-Windsorcontinued to refuse to cooperate with their criminal investigation of Maxwell. British authorities wanted to know if he had become a suspect as opposed to a witness.
In a series of Aug. 24, 2021 emails, also released on Jan. 30, officials in the U.S. embassy in London discussed with counterparts in Washingtonhow to respond to British government inquiries. Mountbatten-Windsor had been publicly accusedin a civil lawsuit of consorting with at least one girl who alleges shehad been trafficked by Epstein.
At the time of the 2021 embassy emails, Maxwell had been charged with sex trafficking, and Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre had just filed a civil lawsuit againstMountbatten-Windsor. Her civil case was settled in February 2022 for an undisclosed amount, with the then-prince making a substantial donation to her charity.
More:Epstein pulled strings, paid tuition across world for kids of powerful
"We are aware that a civil case has been filed in New York concerning the Epstein investigation with the material witness as the defendant," someone from the UK government said in an inquiry to the U.S. embassy, shared by the embassy official. "Please can you let us know what impact this has on the material witness's current status, as a witness, in the criminal investigation and in relation to the MLA request."
"I think they are asking whether, in light of the recent allegations, that Andrew 'is now a suspect instead of a witness (in British parlance)'," said the unidentified U.S. embassy official, apparently the Justice Department attache in London. "I was going to respond with one word 'none' but thought I should check first. … The earlier the better because the Amb is keen to sort this out."
"The Amb" refers to the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom at the time. An MLA is a request under the U.S.-UK Mutual Legal Assistance treaty to gather evidence, exchange information and serve documents in connection with a criminal investigation or prosecution.
Contributing: Brendan Morrow, Josh Meyer, Taijuan Moorman and Anthony Robledo
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Former Prince Andrew appears in photos, emails in Epstein files
