Prince Andrew had ‘daily massages’ when visiting Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, according to housekeeper
Prince Andrew had daily massages when he spent “weeks” at Jeffrey Epstein’s Florida home, according to the billionaire’s former housekeeper in court documents that been have revealed.
The newly-released papers include the transcript of a video interview with Juan Alessi, who worked at the paedophile financier’s Palm Beach residence.
The unsealing of the first batch of documents caused the court’s website to crash earlier this week, but much of the content repeats information that was already in the public domain.
In a video-taped interview under oath in 2009, Mr Alessi faced questions on Epstein’s relationship with the Duke of York and his former wife, Sarah Ferguson.
Jeffrey Epstein took his own life in prison in 2019. Pic: AP
Mr Alessi said he believes the Duchess of York visited the Florida estate “only once and for a short time” but identified Andrew as someone who “spent weeks with us”.
When asked if he would “frequently have massages”, Mr Alessi replied: “I would say, daily massages.”
Andrew stepped back from public life amid a furore over his friendship with Epstein in November 2019.
He was then cast out of the working monarchy and stripped of his HRH title when Virginia Giuffre accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. He strenuously denies any wrongdoing.
The third and fourth batches of documents with details on Epstein’s sexual abuse of teenage girls includes a total of 73 exhibits.
The third tranche consists of 411 pages and the fourth totals 649.
The papers were part of a lawsuit filed by Ms Giuffre against Epstein‘s former girlfriend and long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The lawsuit was settled in 2017.
Included in the newly-released claims was a transcript of a 2016 video-taped interview with Maxwell by Ms Giuffre’s lawyer Sigrid McCawley that showed the disgraced socialite saying she did not know how Epstein met the duke and insisting she did not introduce them.
The deposition saw Maxwell describe Ms Giuffre’s alleged meetings with Andrew as a “tissue of lies”.
Ms McCawley asked Maxwell: “Did you introduce him to Jeffrey?” She responded: “That would be another of Virginia’s lies and the lies you perpetrate. I never introduced Prince Andrew to Jeffrey Epstein at any time ever.”
Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell, pictured in a photo believed to have been taken in 2001. Pic: Rex/Shutterstock
Maxwell admitted there was a Duke of York puppet in Epstein’s New York apartment.
Andrew was accused by Johanna Sjoberg of groping her breast while posing with what is reported to have been a Spitting Image puppet of himself in Epstein’s Manhattan home in 2001.
In evidence that emerged this week, Ms Sjoberg said: “They decided to take a picture with it, in which Virginia and Andrew sat on a couch.
“They put the puppet on Virginia’s lap, and I sat on Andrew’s lap, and they put the puppet’s hand on Virginia’s breast, and Andrew put his hand on my breast, and they took a photo.”
Johanna Sjoberg has accused Prince Andrew of touching her breast in 2001. Pic: ANL/Shutterstock
Maxwell was asked if she put the caricature’s hand on Ms Sjoberg’s breast – to which she replied that she “did not recollect anything around the puppet”.
The documents are sprinkled with the names of celebrities and politicians who socialised or worked with Epstein in the years before accusations against him became public.
The third set of documents include photocopies of Epstein’s assistant’s notepad, revealing Harvey Weinstein – who was exposed as a sexual predator in October 2017 – once called the paedophile financier.
He also received a call from the wife of former Victoria’s Secret chief executive Les Wexner “to talk about something private”, the documents reveal.
They also show that lawyers hunting for information on Maxwell’s computer searched for words including “Prince” and “Andrew” as well as the terms “masturbate” and “nipple”.
More from Sky News:
Why the court docs are being released now
All the names mentioned in the Epstein docs so far
Officers specifically searched Maxwell’s computer for information on Prince Andrew
Andrew has found himself back in the spotlight though, as the second release included testimony from Ms Sjoberg claiming he touched her breast.
Buckingham Palace has previously said the allegations are “categorically untrue”.
Other notable names mentioned are Stephen Hawking, Michael Jackson and Bill Clinton but their inclusion does not mean they are accused of wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the King is reportedly preparing to withdraw private funding for the security operation at the Duke of York’s home.
The Telegraph said Andrew will have to fund the multi-million pound security costs at Royal Lodge himself if he wants to stay in the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
World
‘Better late than never’: Palestinian minister says UK recognition of state would be ‘courageous step’
Britain will be taking “a courageous step at a very difficult time” by officially recognising a Palestinian state, according to the authority’s foreign minister, who told Sky News she believes the announcement – expected in the coming days – will inspire more nations to follow suit.
The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister, Varsen Aghabekian, told me Britain’s move was “better late than never”, and said “Britain, with its weight, can influence other countries to come forward and recognise, because that is the right thing to do”.
But she also said she is “very angry” with the White House over its “unwavering support” for Israel, and said that Israel’s refusal to pass on tax revenue was pushing Palestinian civil society to the brink of “collapse”.
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Could recognition of Palestine change the West Bank?
Aghabekian was speaking as Britain, along with France, Canada and Australia, prepares to recognise the State of Palestine officially at the United Nations.
She told me: “Britain has been supporting the existence and the flourishing of Israel for some time, but I think today Britain is looking at the matter objectively, in terms of the right of people, in terms of complying with international law, and in terms of the future of this area for both the Israelis and Palestinians.”
She rejected the idea that recognising Palestine was a reward for Hamas terrorism, saying that “non-recognition” would also be a “reward to the extremists” and said that “if we wait until Israel decides it wants to go into negotiations with the Palestinians, then it won’t happen”.
Aghabekian told me she expected Gaza to be returned to the Palestinians, but I put it to her that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was being empowered by the diplomatic support he receives from America, and in particular, US President Donald Trump.
So is she angry with the White House? “Very angry, because I expect the White House and the United States of America to align with international law, with human rights, with having no double standards.
“This unwavering support for Israel, this blind support, is not only harming the Palestinians but also Israeli society.”
Read more:
What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?
Gaza could be ‘real estate bonanza’, Israeli minister says
Varsen Aghabekian speaks to Sky’s Adam Parsons
The state of Palestine is already recognised by three-quarters of the United Nations’ members. It comprises two separate territories – the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Together, they are officially known as the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The West Bank has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, while Gaza has been attacked by Israel since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, when nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 people were taken hostage.
Since then, more than 65,000 people have been killed in Gaza as Israel has sought to destroy Hamas and recover its hostages. There are 48 hostages still in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.
She confirmed to me that Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, “has given guarantees in letters to various leaders around the globe that said Hamas will not be part of the governance of the Gaza Strip” and insisted there was “probably a worldwide consensus” on the topic.
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How has UK responded to Israel-Gaza conflict?
But she also insisted it was “not reasonable” to talk of completely erasing Hamas: “Hamas is an ideology, not a building that you bring down. Hamas is in people’s minds; in their heads.
“Those who support Hamas need to see a future, need to see something that is moving on the political level, need to see that there might be a state in which their children and their grandchildren might prosper.
“What people see today, whether they are Hamas supporters or not, they see darkness and they see destruction all over. They see violation of rights. They are helpless and hopeless. People need to see things are moving forward, and once that happens, there will be a shift in the mood, and they will look for a better future.”
But just as the Palestinians prepare to welcome recognition, Aghabekian said the West Bank was facing financial collapse as Israel continues to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue that, under a 30-year-old agreement, it collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf.
Israel has retained a proportion of the money since the start of the war in Gaza, but, encouraged by finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, it has recently withheld a much higher amount.
“People have not been paid, civil servants are only receiving small parts of their salaries. We can’t buy medical supplies, equipment, you name it,” said Aghabekian.
“How can a government run a country under such conditions? So yes, we are very worried.”
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