Jeffrey Epstein 'wanted to blackmail the Queen' through his friendship with Prince Andrew, claims Fergie's former lover

20 November 2022, 08:02

The ultimate aim of Jeffrey Epstein's friendship with Prince Andrew was to get money out of the Queen, the former lover of the prince's ex-wife has claimed.

Financier John Bryan said that Epstein, who died in 2019 in prison while awaiting trial after trafficking hundreds of young girls into sex work, made his vast wealth through extorting rich people.

Mr Bryan said: "People always ask how Epstein made his money. He was supposed to be this tax wizard. But it was all a con.

"He blackmailed rich men and then made them pay to avoid scandal," he told the Mail Online. "He made hundreds of millions of dollars this way.

"Epstein tried to lure Andrew into his web, but I believe his ultimate mark was the Queen."

Prince Andrew's relationship with Epstein has been under scrutiny for years, but especially since a bombshell 2019 interview with Emily Maitlis in which he tried to defend the friendship.

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But Mr Bryan added: "I believe Andrew is innocent. If he genuinely was involved in 'orgies' as has been alleged, then Epstein would have used that to try and bribe the Queen into paying out millions to protect her family.

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"Andrew has never had any money. The Queen was the one with money.

"I truly believe Epstein was going after her but Andrew never gave him the ammunition to do so."

"He blackmailed rich men and then made them pay to avoid scandal. He made hundreds of millions of dollars this way.

"Epstein tried to lure Andrew into his web, but I believe his ultimate mark was the Queen."

Read more: Met Police drop Jeffrey Epstein investigation and will take 'no further action' over allegations

Epstein' 2019 death was ruled a suicide. It came more than a decade after his conviction for soliciting prostitution from girls under the age of 18, and he was also accused of running a large network of underage girls for sex, to which he pleaded not guilty.

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His associate, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, was jailed for 20 years in the US earlier this year for luring young girls to massage rooms for him between 1994 and 2004.

Epstein was also connected with the Duke of York through their friendship with Maxwell. Andrew withdrew from public royal life after a civil sex assault case was brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of having sex with her when she was a teenager at multiple locations including Epstein's New York home.

The duke has denied the accusations, and the case ended in a reported eight-figure settlement.

The Metropolitan Police said in August that it would be taking no further action over allegations made against Epstein.