Andrew visited Epstein on children’s charity trip

Documents released by Democrats on the House oversight committee in the US show the Duke of York enjoyed a trip to Epstein’s mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, while on the taxpayer-funded visit to New York in May 2000 to promote a £250m fundraising campaign for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

He was helping raise money for the NSPCC’s Full Stop campaign, of which he was patron from 1999 until 2009. In an apparent breach of royal travel guidelines, he broke off to fly from Teterboro, New Jersey, to Palm Beach on 12 May on Epstein’s private jet with the financier and his then girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, and two others whose names have been redacted.

A ledger records someone referred to only as “Andrew” receiving a $200 massage at the mansion, where Epstein employed underage girls to provide hospitality for his guests. The Court Circular, the official record of the royal family’s duties, states he flew to New York on 11 May to attend an NSPCC reception but the next entry is his return to London on 15 May. The Duke, 65, has faced allegations of using taxpayer-funded trips as a cover to conduct private business deals on behalf of himself and his associates. He has repeatedly denied any impropriety. The royal household declined to comment.

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