Scottish police conduct inquiries into ex-Prince Andrew and Epstein's visit to king's estate

LONDON (AP) — Police in Scotland have opened an investigation into the time the former Prince Andrew spent with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, at the king’s Balmoral estate, authorities said Friday.

Police Scotland, which provides law enforcement throughout the country, said the inquiries began after it received “information” and that the probe was at a “very early stage.″ The force provided no further detail about what the information was or what offenses officers were investigating.

The Daily Express, which first reported the investigation, said the inquiries related to claims that women were trafficked to the king’s private estate in the Scottish Highlands.

“All inquiries are evidence-led, with the needs of victim survivors at the heart of those inquiries,″ Police Scotland said in a statement. “We would never confirm details of ongoing inquiries, and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

Images released by the U.S. Department of Justice appeared to show Epstein and Maxwell on a shooting trip at Balmoral in 1999. The photos were among millions of pages of documents the department published earlier this year as Congress probed Epstein’s links to politicians, business leaders and other influential people in the U.S. and around the world.

The presence of anyone’s name or image in the files isn’t proof of wrongdoing.

Several other U.K. police forces, including London’s Metropolitan Police Service, Thames Valley Police, and Surrey Police, are also investigating information released in the Epstein files.

Thames Valley officers in February arrested the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office based on information released in the Epstein Files. King Charles III’s younger brother, 66, was held for several hours before he was released on police bail pending further investigation.

The force covers the area west of London that includes Windsor Castle and Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home nearby.

It was the first time in nearly four centuries that a senior British royal had been arrested.

The former prince has repeatedly denied committing any crimes.

Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to Epstein have caused headaches for Britain’s royal family for almost two decades.

With U.S. authorities preparing to release documents related to their long-running investigation into Epstein, the king late last year moved to shield the monarchy from the scandal by stripping his brother of his princely title.

Mountbatten-Windsor was also ordered to move out of the Royal Lodge, his longtime home in parkland near Windsor Castle. He now lives in a house at Sandringham, the king’s privately owned estate in eastern England.

Mountbatten-Windsor's reputation has been tarnished by his relationship with Epstein ever since 2008, when the wealthy American financier pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution. In 2011, the late Virginia Giuffre alleged that she had been trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor when she was 17.

Mountbatten-Windsor tried to silence the scandal by doing a lengthy interview with BBC in 2019, but the strategy backfired when he was criticized for offering unbelievable explanations of his behavior and failing to show empathy for Epstein’s victims.