Prince Andrew's stay at Royal Lodge sparks funding 'concerns' from Royal expert

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A Royal expert has claimed there are "concerns" about how Prince Andrew has used business contacts made through Jeffery Epstein. Andrew Lownie, who is writing a joint biography of the Duke and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, highlighted the issue as he reacted to news that the Prince has found the funds needed to stay at Royal Lodge.

Mr Lownie said: "As the Duke himself admitted in his Newsnight interview, Jeffrey Epstein introduced him to useful business contacts. He also developed lucrative connections in Central Asia and the Middle East during his ten years as special representative for trade and investment.

"There have long been concerns about how he has since used those contacts. Now he is no longer a working royal, there is far less scrutiny of his business activities — but it is an area that needs to be looked at."

Court files revealed earlier this year how Prince Andrew, 64, "spent weeks" at sex offender and financier Epstein's mansion in Florida, The Mirror reports. This revelation sparked the long-running situation dubbed "the siege of Royal Lodge," during which Andrew has refused to vacate the crumbling property in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire.

The Times reports how King Charles' patience with his brother slowly "ran out" throughout the year. The monarch had asked his brother to vacate the estate, and offered him Prince Harry and Meghan Mark'e's former home, Frogmore Cottage, as an alternative.

The Duke of York, though, remained defiant. Father-of-two Andrew had “daily massages” during frequent visits to Epstein's pad, the legal papers also said. Andrew's relationship with the late paedophile has faced scrutiny in recent years.

Court documents surfaced earlier this year as part of a 2015 lawsuit that was filed against Ghislaine Maxwell by one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Giuffre. She is one of dozens of women who sued Epstein saying he had abused them at his homes in Florida, New York, the US Virgin Islands, and New Mexico.

Giuffre claimed the summer she turned 17, she was lured away from a job as a spa attendant at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club to become a "masseuse" for Epstein - a job that involved performing sexual acts. The Duke of York denies all allegations.

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