Andrew faces more humiliation as Maxwell lawyers forced into sordid phone search

07 January 2024 , 10:45

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Prince Andrew was named in the documents (Image: UK Press via Getty Images)

Prince Andrew faces more humiliation after it emerged Ghislaine Maxwell lawyers were instructed to search her phone for any usage of his name.

Court documents reveal a court order forced the socialite's legal team to scour her phone, as well as computer and thousands of emails for acquaintances of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and a string of sordid words. On top of variations of the Duke of York's name, they searched for 'underage', 'massage', 'slave', 'sex', 'nipple' and 'dildo' among other other terms, according to the papers.

The embarrassing search was part of a 2015 defamation case brought by Andrew's accuser Virginia Giuffre against Maxwell. Some 130 documents, amounting to more than 1,300 pages, were released this weekend. Maxwell's lawyers claimed the search was a "wild goose chase" and it is unclear what it uncovered, and the case was settled before it reached court.

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2005 (Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Andrew has reportedly been left furious by the recent development. A source told the Daily Mail: "He doesn't have the emotional bandwidth to deal with this. He has locked himself away in a room and has no idea how to respond. He's devastated." The court files were sealed in 2017 but were published over a three-period this week following requests from the media.

The documents claim Andrew knew of Epstein's sex trafficking, committed "acts of sexual abuse", had daily massages and was involved in an "underage orgy". Scotland Yard has said it will not rule out investigating sexual assault claims about Andrew.

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Andrew with accuser Virginia Guiffre and Ghislaine Maxwell (PA)

Ms Giuffre, 40, says she was kept as a sex slave by Epstein and forced to have sex with the duke. Andrew has always vehemently denied wrongdoing and said he has “no recollection” of ever meeting her. However, in 2022 Andrew paid her £12million to halt a US civil trial after she accused him of sexually assaulting her three times when she was 17. This was not an admission of guilt.

The documents repeat an allegation that Andrew took part in an orgy with underage girls during one of his stays on Epstein’s private Caribbean island. The accuser – not named in the papers but said to be Ms Giuffre – says she was forced to join in the orgy.

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Anti-monarchy group Republic reported Andrew to the Metropolitan Police on Thursday after the US documents emerged. But the Met said: “No investigation has been launched. Should new and relevant information be brought to our attention we will assess it.”

Juan Alessi, Epstein’s housekeeper from 1991 until 2002, has testified that the Duke enjoyed “daily massages” at Epstein’s Florida mansion. He added: “Prince Andrew spent weeks with us.” He admitted he could not remember if Andrew had more than one massage each day and he didn’t know what happened during them.

Ryan Merrifield