Scottish police are investigating the time convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein spent with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at Balmoral, a private royal estate in Scotland which is a favored retreat for the monarchy.
“We have received information and active enquiries are ongoing but these are at a very early stage,” a Police Scotland spokesperson told CNN on Friday, without giving details about the investigation.
“All enquiries are evidence-led, with the needs of victim survivors at the heart of those enquiries,” the police spokesperson said. “We would never confirm details of ongoing enquiries and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
British newspaper The Daily Express reported that the investigation was related to allegations women were “trafficked” to Balmoral.
Since the release of the Epstein files, Mountbatten-Windsor, known as Prince Andrew until his brother King Charles III stripped him of his titles, has faced a slew of allegations over his links to the late sex offender. He was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in February and interviewed under caution before being released.
The scandal has left Mountbatten-Windsor’s already battered reputation in tatters and plunged Britain’s royal family into crisis.
Pictures previously released by US prosecutors in 2021 appear to show Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the financier’s right-hand woman currently serving time in a US federal prison for sex trafficking and other crimes, at Balmoral in 1999.
Buckingham Palace has consistently said that it does not speak for Mountbatten-Windsor and does not comment on active police investigations.
Mountbatten-Windsor has vehemently denied any and all wrongdoing in his dealings with Epstein. Police have said their investigation into misconduct in public office, relating to his time as a trade envoy for Britain, is still ongoing.
CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite contributed reporting.
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