34 IN TOUCH SEPTEMBER2, 2019
T
hey were both smiling
fromearto ear.Onherway
tochurchnearherScottish
summer home, Balmoral,
on Aug. 11, Queen Elizabeth II
beamed asshesatnext toherson
Prince Andrew in what a source
calls“a clearshowof solidarity.”
Behindthe scenes, itwasadif-
ferentstory. Twodays earlier,the
Dukeof York,59,wasnamedin a
Thedeathof alleged
se x traffickerJe ffrey
Epstein sparks new
questions about his
pal Prince Andrew
troveof unsealedlegaldocuments
concerning his old friend, convicted
pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Within
24 hours, the 66-year-old Ameri-
can financier — known for his ties
to dozens of wealthy and powerful
world figures — was found hanging
in the Manhattan jail cell where he
was awaiting trial on federal sex
trafficking charges following his
July arrest. His death has fueled
conspiracy theories that he didn’t
kill himself but was murdered,
and it’s all sparked renewed scru-
tiny of Andrew and fresh questions
concerning what the royal family
knows about the prince’s dealings
with the late criminal. “The queen
hasbeenthroughherfairshareof
scandals, but the Epstein investiga-
tion is one of the biggest yet,” says
the source. “The palace has gone
into crisis mode to smooth over An-
drew’s connection to this monster.
An emergency meeting was even
held to figure out how to best handle
the situation.”
BAD DECISIONS
The allegations are shocking. Years
ago, Epstein’s self-described sex
slave, Virginia Giuffre, claimed Ep-
stein paid her to be intimate with
his pal Andrew three times start-
ing when she was 17. Giuffre claimed
Andrew sucked on her toes as they
WHAT DO TH
scandalnews
Epstein’s apparent
suicide is currently
under investigation.
