In a chilling blast from the past that threatens to reignite one of the British monarchy’s darkest chapters, newly released emails reveal Prince Andrew’s raw, emotional plea to his disgraced friend Jeffrey Epstein amid swirling allegations of sex trafficking and underage exploitation. The Duke of York, stripped of his titles and facing eviction from his Windsor estate, reportedly begged the convicted paedophile financier: “I can’t take any more of this,” in a frantic bid to distance himself from Epstein’s web of depravity.

The correspondence, unearthed from Epstein’s estate and published this week by the US House Oversight Committee, dates back to March 2011—months after Andrew insists he cut ties with the sex offender following Epstein’s 2008 conviction for procuring a minor for prostitution. The emails, exchanged between Andrew, Epstein, and Epstein’s convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, expose the prince’s mounting panic as a press inquiry loomed over claims by Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre that Andrew had sexual encounters with her three times when she was 17. Andrew has vehemently denied the accusations, settling a civil lawsuit with Giuffre out of court in 2022 for an undisclosed sum estimated at £12 million, without admitting liability.

The explosive exchange begins with Andrew firing off a desperate missive to Epstein: “Please make sure that every statement or legal letter states clearly that I am NOT involved and that I knew and know NOTHING about any of these allegations. I can’t take any more of this my end.” In a parallel email to Maxwell, now serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Epstein’s trafficking ring, Andrew’s tone borders on hysteria: “Hey there! What’s all this? I don’t know anything about this! You must SAY so please. This has NOTHING to do with me. I can’t take any more of this.”

Epstein’s responses, laced with his signature callousness, only amplify the sordid undertones. Replying to a query on handling the brewing media storm, the financier quipped: “I’m not sure how to respond, the only person she didn’t have sex with was Elvis.” He later confirmed the infamous photograph of Andrew with Giuffre—arm around her waist at Maxwell’s London townhouse in 2001—as authentic, writing: “Yes she (Virginia) was on my plane, and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew, as many of my employees have.” Epstein dismissed Giuffre outright as a “liar,” a stance he doubled down on in a July 2011 email to an unnamed journalist, urging an investigation: “The girl who accused [Prince Andrew] can also easily be proven to be a liar. I think Buckingham Palace would love it. You should task someone to investigate the girl Virginia Roberts, that has caused the Queen’s son all this agro. I promise you she is a fraud. You and I will be able to go to Ascot for the rest of our lives.”

These revelations land like a thunderclap amid Andrew’s ongoing purge from royal life. Just weeks ago, on November 3, King Charles III issued Letters Patent formally revoking Andrew’s “His Royal Highness” style and military affiliations, rebranding him as plain “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.” The 65-year-old, once a celebrated naval officer and trade envoy, now faces a deadline to vacate Royal Lodge—his sprawling 30-room Windsor home occupied for two decades—by early 2026, amid a acrimonious £4.5 million annual upkeep row with the Crown Estate. Palace insiders whisper of a “mercy” offer: Frogmore Cottage, once home to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but Andrew’s resistance has only deepened the family chasm.

The emails’ timing couldn’t be more damning. They surface as US lawmakers, including Representatives Robert Garcia and Stephen F. Lynch, intensify scrutiny on Epstein’s network, demanding Andrew testify before Congress on unresolved sex-trafficking claims. Garcia, in a blistering letter dated October 2025, accused the prince of “stonewalling” justice, citing his 2019 BBC Newsnight interview—where Andrew infamously claimed he couldn’t sweat due to a Falklands War overdose and didn’t recall meeting Giuffre—as “one of the most disastrous PR disasters in royal history.” That car-crash appearance, dissected in Netflix’s 2022 Scoop, led to Andrew’s immediate retreat from public duties.

Royal experts are reeling. Biographer Robert Jobson, speaking to The Times, called the emails “a dagger to the monarchy’s heart,” arguing they shatter Andrew’s narrative of ignorance: “He wasn’t just peripherally linked; these missives show active desperation to scrub his name.” Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine, added: “Andrew’s pleas reveal a man cornered, but Epstein’s mockery underscores the toxic enmeshment. Charles must act decisively—or risk collateral damage to William’s future reign.” Public fury echoes online; #EpsteinAndrew trended on X Thursday, with users decrying: “Taxpayer-funded scandal revival—time for full disinheritance!” A fresh YouGov snap poll shows Andrew’s approval cratering to 8%, with 72% demanding he forfeit Royal Lodge forthwith.

For Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, the shadow looms large. Spared their father’s title stripping—thanks to a 1917 George V edict—the sisters, ninth and twelfth in line, have carved low-key lives: Beatrice, 37, expecting her second child in 2026, and Eugenie, 35, thriving in art dealing. Yet whispers of “York fatigue” persist; Emily Maitlis’s October podcast alleged William issued an “ultimatum” on their HRH status if Andrew digs in on Royal Lodge. Palace sources counter: “The girls are blameless—focus remains on Andrew’s compliance.”

Epstein’s suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019—ruled a hanging but dogged by conspiracy theories—left a £500 million fortune in flux, with estates releasing troves like these emails piecemeal. Maxwell’s appeals grind on from Tallahassee’s low-security prison, her 2021 conviction hinging on testimony from Giuffre and others who painted Epstein’s orbit as a “pyramid scheme of abuse.”

As Charles, 76 and midway through cancer treatment, grapples with institutional reform, Andrew’s unearthed anguish serves as a grim reminder: Scandals don’t die quietly. Will this prompt a final exile, or merely prolong the agony? In the words of one anonymous courtier: “The plea was prescient—none of us can take much more.” With congressional subpoenas looming and family patience fraying, the duke’s pleas from 14 years ago echo louder than ever—a monarchic mea culpa too late to salve the wounds.