The Duke of York described himself as a friend of Maxwell and her as Jeffrey Epstein 's girlfriend when he gave a disastrous interview to the BBC in 2019. The Newsnight sit-down led to him having to step back from public life and face widespread ridicule on social media.

The author alleged, "Andrew and Ghislaine... had been occasional lovers—and through her, the Prince had come into the ambit of... Epstein."

The former couple were seen driving near Windsor Castle just days after shocking claims about Andrew emerged in a new royal biography