Focus on Prince Andrew intensifies with new book's revelations about Epstein ties

NBC News

2 days ago

LONDON — A new book touting explosive revelations about the life of Britain's Prince Andrew has left the embattled duke facing a renewed wave of damaging headlines.
The unauthorized biography, "Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York" by Andrew Lownie, was published Thursday.
It centers on Andrew's relationship with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, and covers his finances and dealings with foreign governments, as well as the timeline of his ties with Jeffrey Epstein — the late financier and convicted sex offender who has been the subject of fervent attention in both Britain and the United States in recent weeks.
NBC royal contributor Daisy McAndrew said Thursday that the good news for Andrew and the royal family may be that the impact of this renewed focus will be blunted by the reality that his reputation is already at 'rock bottom.'
'It's possible other people might well be taking some of the heat off Andrew,' she said, referring to politicians in the U.S.
Publisher HarperCollins says Lownie, a historian, drew on four years of research and interviews with more than 100 people who haven't spoken before in writing the 448-page book. The majority spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Excerpts have been splashed across Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, and a poll released this week found that two-thirds of Britons want the disgraced younger brother of King Charles III to be stripped of his remaining royal titles.
An earlier YouGov survey found Andrew remains by far the most unpopular royal, with just 5% of respondents saying they held a positive view of him.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, formerly known as Meghan Markle, was one place above Andrew, at 20%, with heir to the throne Prince William topping the rankings on 74%.
A representative for Andrew and Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment about both the book and the polling.
Andrew returned his military affiliations and royal patronages in January 2022 after his lawyers failed to persuade a U.S. judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing him of sexual abuse.
He later paid a substantial sum to Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that Andrew sexually abused her when she was 17. Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Giuffre died by suicide in April this year, with her family saying in a statement that 'the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.'
In December 2024, Andrew was caught up in an alleged spying case after cultivating an 'unusual degree of trust' with a Chinese man who was barred from the U.K. on national security grounds.
Britain's High Court ruled that Andrew had been 'prepared to enter into business activities' with Yang Tengbo as it lifted an anonymity order protecting Tengbo's identity. Tengbo had been subjected to the highest levels of national security investigation in the U.K.
Other royals have rarely appeared in public with Andrew since his fall from grace.
His public standing has remained little changed since a disastrous interview about his ties to Epstein on the BBC's 'Newsnight' program in November 2019.
Despite this simmering anger and growing pressure, McAndrew said she doesn't think the king will take the drastic step of removing Andrew's royal titles. But, she said, William might act differently when he ascends the throne.
"He's much less sentimental as a personality. And the royal family (and future monarch peculiarly) ultimately must exist to protect the monarchy," she said.
The royal family will have to consider whether taking new action against Andrew could run the risk of him retaliating publicly. They may feel it is better, McAndrew said, "to let sleeping dogs lie."