The Moment
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, better known as the former Duke of York and King Charles III’s younger brother, is back in the headlines thanks to newly released Jeffrey Epstein files. Among more than three million documents made public by the U.S. Department of Justice, a set of three photos has people staring, blinking, and then staring again.
In the images, a man widely believed to be Andrew is barefoot and dressed in jeans and a white polo shirt, wearing a silver watch. He’s crouched on all fours over a woman who is lying on the floor on her back with her arms spread out. In one shot, he looks straight into the camera; in another, his left hand rests on her stomach. A third person lounges nearby in a leopard-print chair, feet propped up on a table like this is just another casual night.
According to the DOJ release, the photos come with almost no context – no clear date, no location, no explanation of what on earth is happening. Officials say sensitive details in the wider release, including anything involving minors or explicit abuse, were heavily redacted. These shots made it through, which tells you they’re not being treated as explicit child sexual abuse material, but that doesn’t make them any less unsettling.
LATEST: Photos in the newly released Epstein files reportedly show Prince Andrew on all fours over a woman, raising renewed scrutiny over his involvement in the scandal.#EpsteinFiles #DOJ pic.twitter.com/knHIT2wmgi
— Newsly (@Newsly_Media01) January 31, 2026
Hours after this latest batch of Epstein documents dropped, cameras caught Andrew driving around the Windsor Estate and later out horse riding, expression mostly unreadable. While the world was zooming in on old photos, he was literally trotting along like it was any other Saturday. The optics could not be louder.
The Take
I’ll say the quiet part out loud: even if everyone in those photos is an adult and fully consenting, the images are a public relations disaster for a man who already used up his lifetime supply of benefit of the doubt.
There’s no allegation that these particular photos show a crime. But when your name has been linked to Jeffrey Epstein for years, when you’ve already paid out a reported multimillion-dollar civil settlement to Virginia Giuffre (while denying her allegations), a set of mystery party shots where you’re on all fours over a woman is not just “bad optics.” It’s reputation arson.
The royal strategy lately has been a kind of slow-motion rehab: keep Andrew mostly out of sight, let time dull the outrage, sprinkle in some pap shots of him driving around Windsor or riding a horse, and hope people quietly move on. These images are a reminder that time doesn’t erase receipts – it just makes them easier to search.
It’s like trying to relaunch yourself as a dignified elder statesman while the internet keeps discovering new photos of you from the world’s worst frat party. You can’t sell “responsible granddad” when the archives keep spitting out “guy who hangs out with Epstein and poses on the floor.”
For the monarchy, this isn’t just one embarrassing relative. It keeps raising the same uncomfortable question for a lot of 40+ readers who remember when royal scandals meant divorce and toe-sucking: What does accountability look like when someone is both a private citizen and a symbol of a nation? Andrew doesn’t have formal royal duties anymore, but he still lives on royal land, still appears in royal proximity, and still carries a royal-sized shadow.
And every new drip of material from the Epstein universe – court files, flight logs, now DOJ documents – drags the whole institution back into the muck, whether Buckingham Palace likes it or not.
Receipts
Here’s what we actually know, separated from the whispers.
Confirmed:
- The U.S. Department of Justice has released more than three million pages of material related to Jeffrey Epstein, with extensive redactions to protect victims’ identities and remove any images of child sexual abuse, according to official statements from U.S. officials in connection with the release.
- Among those materials are three photographs that appear to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on all fours over a woman lying on the floor, barefoot and dressed in jeans and a white polo shirt, as described in the newly released files.
- The time, date, and location of the photos are not specified in the documents, and no narrative explanation is provided in the public release.
- Publicly available agency photos from January 31, 2026, show Andrew driving on the Windsor Estate and later riding a horse, hours after this latest tranche of Epstein-related documents was released.
- Jeffrey Epstein was convicted in 2008 in Florida on charges related to soliciting a minor for prostitution, and died in jail in 2019 while awaiting federal sex-trafficking trial; his death was officially ruled a suicide, according to authorities.
- Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, was convicted in 2021 on federal sex-trafficking and related charges.
- Virginia Giuffre brought a civil lawsuit against Andrew in U.S. federal court alleging sexual abuse when she was 17; Andrew has consistently denied the allegations. The case was settled in 2022 without any admission of liability, according to the settlement filings.
Unverified / Unknown:
- The identity of the woman in the new photos, her age, and whether she was associated with Epstein in any way have not been publicly confirmed in the DOJ materials.
- The precise date and location of the images, and whether they were taken before or after Epstein’s 2008 conviction, remain unclear.
- There is no public indication from U.S. authorities that these specific photos are being treated as evidence of a crime involving Andrew; any claims beyond that are speculation at this point.
- Neither Andrew’s representatives nor Buckingham Palace have, as of this writing, issued a detailed public explanation of the images or their context.
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
If you haven’t been following every twist of the Epstein-Andrew saga, here’s the quick rewind. Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier, was accused for years of trafficking and abusing underage girls. He took a controversial plea deal in Florida in 2008, then was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges. He died in jail that same year; officials ruled it a suicide.
Andrew’s friendship with Epstein goes back to at least the late 1990s. For many people, the defining image is that well-known early-2000s photo: Andrew with his arm around a young Virginia Giuffre’s waist, Ghislaine Maxwell in the background. Giuffre later alleged in U.S. court filings that Andrew sexually abused her when she was 17 and trafficked by Epstein. Andrew has always denied it, saying he has “no recollection” of ever meeting her, despite the photo.
After a widely panned 2019 television interview, where he described Epstein’s behavior as “unbecoming” and tried to explain away the accusations (including that now-infamous line about not being able to sweat), Andrew stepped back from royal duties. In 2022, he settled Giuffre’s civil lawsuit out of court. As part of the fallout, he stopped using the “His Royal Highness” style in an official capacity and lost a number of honorary military roles.
Since then, the royal strategy has basically been: keep him in the background, let lawyers and sealed files do their thing, and hope there are no more surprises. The ongoing releases of Epstein-related materials – from civil court documents unsealed in 2024 to this new DOJ cache – keep undermining that plan.
What’s Next
So where does this leave Andrew and the institution around him?
From a legal standpoint, there is no sign right now that U.S. authorities are preparing fresh criminal charges against him. These new photos land more in the realm of reputation and accountability than prosecution. But reputations matter, especially when your family’s entire brand is built on public trust and soft power.
What to watch for now:
- Any statement from Andrew or the Palace: So far, the usual playbook has been silence or very limited comments. A more detailed explanation of the images – how old they are, who was present, whether they involve any Epstein property – would be new territory.
- Future document drops: The DOJ release is massive, and it may take reporters and lawyers time to sift through. Additional material touching on Andrew’s movements, emails, or travel could surface in the weeks and months ahead.
- His public visibility: Will we keep seeing him quietly around Windsor and on horseback, or will these photos force the royal family to pull him even further back? Watch how often he’s allowed anywhere near big family moments or public-facing events.
- Public mood: For many people, especially in the U.S., the monarchy already feels on trial. Each new Epstein-related receipt doesn’t just damage Andrew; it chips away at the idea that some people can ever really step out of the long shadow of who they chose to keep as friends.
The monarchy can’t control what’s in old files, but it can control how it responds. And “pretend this is all ancient history” is getting harder to sell each time another disturbing picture surfaces.
Sources
U.S. Department of Justice Epstein-related document release, statements and materials released January 2026; prior Epstein case background from federal court records and public DOJ announcements (2008-2019). Civil case filings and public reporting on Virginia Giuffre v. Prince Andrew settlement (2022) and unsealed materials in related litigation involving Ghislaine Maxwell (2024). Prince Andrew’s television interview with the BBC’s Newsnight, broadcast November 2019.
What do you think: at this point, is there any realistic path back to public life for Andrew, or should the royal family finally make his exile permanent?
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