While the Epstein scandal exploded in headlines and Jeffrey Epstein faced fresh scrutiny in 2019, Ghislaine Maxwell slipped quietly into Buckingham Palace—straight to Prince Andrew’s private quarters—for a secret meeting just weeks after the renewed investigation.
According to reports from palace insiders and former protection officers, Maxwell enjoyed extraordinary access: coming and going from the Duke’s apartments “in and out all the time,” even picnicking there and visiting multiple times in a single day. This was no casual drop-in; it happened amid mounting questions about her role in Epstein’s crimes, raising stunned questions about loyalty, judgment, and what the royal really knew.
The clandestine rendezvous, later exposed in media bombshells, deepened the shadow over Andrew’s ties to the convicted sex offender’s circle.
How much did the palace walls hide—and who else was in the room?
In the summer of 2019, as Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest in July reignited global scrutiny over his sex-trafficking network, Ghislaine Maxwell made a startling appearance at Buckingham Palace. Reports from palace insiders and former royal protection officers reveal that she met secretly with Prince Andrew in his private apartments just weeks after Epstein’s detention—around early June, according to contemporaneous media accounts. The meeting was no fleeting visit; sources described Maxwell enjoying extraordinary access, coming and going “in and out all the time,” sometimes multiple times in a single day, even picnicking in the prince’s quarters.
A former Buckingham Palace protection officer, Paul Page, later recounted in interviews and documentaries how Maxwell’s frequent presence raised eyebrows among security staff. He suggested the closeness led him and others to suspect an intimate relationship between Maxwell and Andrew, though no evidence of romance has been substantiated. These clandestine rendezvous occurred amid rising questions about Maxwell’s central role in Epstein’s crimes—she would be arrested in July 2020 and convicted in 2021 for sex trafficking minors. Yet in 2019, while Epstein sat in a Manhattan jail cell (he died by suicide the following month), Maxwell reportedly slipped past palace gates to confer with the Duke of York.
The timing amplified the shock. Epstein’s July 6 arrest prompted fresh headlines revisiting Andrew’s long friendship with the financier, including their documented meetings, shared travel, and Andrew’s 2010 stay at Epstein’s New York mansion post-conviction. Buckingham Palace had already distanced itself, issuing statements expressing the prince’s regret over the association. But Maxwell’s access suggested ties ran deeper and more current than publicly admitted. Andrew has always maintained he severed contact with Epstein years earlier and denied knowledge of any illegal activities. He has never been accused of criminal wrongdoing in the Epstein case, though civil allegations from Virginia Giuffre led to his 2022 out-of-court settlement.
Media exposés, including reports from the Daily Mail and New York Post in late 2019 and early 2020, detailed the palace visits, citing anonymous sources and former staff. The revelations fueled outrage: how could someone so entwined with an accused sex trafficker enter the heart of the British monarchy undetected or unquestioned? Questions swirled about loyalty—did Andrew prioritize old friendships over judgment? What was discussed in those private rooms? Protection protocols, typically stringent, appeared relaxed for Maxwell, highlighting inconsistencies in royal security and oversight.
Buckingham Palace never confirmed the meetings, and Andrew has not addressed them publicly in detail. The episodes deepened the shadow over his Epstein connections, contributing to his 2019 BBC interview debacle, the stripping of royal titles in 2022, and ongoing scrutiny. As unsealed documents and witness accounts continue to emerge, the palace walls—symbols of discretion and tradition—stand accused of concealing uncomfortable truths. Who else knew of these visits? What conversations transpired behind those gilded doors? The answers remain partial, but the clandestine access in 2019 serves as a stark emblem: even as scandal exploded, some connections endured in silence, protected by privilege until exposed.
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