The slow shredding of Prince Andrew’s reputation has taken decades but now seems irreversible. Once he was a Royal golden boy, returning home from the Falklands as a war hero and long-rumoured to be the late Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite child. But, like his fairytale marriage to Sarah Ferguson, it was not to last. A recurring theme appears to be the Prince’s love of money and questionable choices. His friendships with billionaires, dictators, and controversial figures have dragged not just his name but the reputation of the monarchy through the mire. King Charles is said to be "exasperated" with the questions being asked about Prince Andrew's business dealings.
It comes as the Duke of York faced fresh scrutiny over ties to a former ambassador to Russia who was banned from entering a Commonwealth country. Oleg Firer, Grenada's former ambassador to Russia, is banned from entering the Caribbean country following a legal fight, during which time he was invited to Andrew's Royal Lodge in Windsor. It has emerged that Andrew last year met the Chinese ambassador to promote an obscure but ambitious Middle Eastern investment firm called Waterberg Stirling, of which Ukraine-born Firer is vice-chairman. It is claimed that Andrew is using his old business connections to make introductions for Waterberg Stirling in China, Africa and the Middle East as it looks to raise $10billion (£8billion) of investment.
"The King is continually exasperated with his brother. It seems that every single time he is leaving him to sort out his own affairs, another matter of concern is raised. The King has been incredibly patient," a royal source told the Mirror. They went on to say: "There is always an intense worry over what else may develop from the Duke's private life given recent history and seeing as these latest allegations have emerged in less than a week, the Duke should be prepared to give a full explanation as to what is actually going on.".
We've taken a look at some of the Duke’s most unfortunate associations below. Jeffrey Epstein The Duke of York's most infamous relationship is undoubtedly with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Despite his paedophile pal's 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor, Andrew maintained ties with him, even visiting Epstein's New York mansion in 2010. Epstein’s suicide in jail in 2019 did not end Andrew’s woes and in 2022 he paid a rumoured £12 million to settle a lawsuit brought by one of Epstein’s abuse victims, Virginia Giuffre. She accused the prince of sexually abusing her after she was loaned to him by Epstein, though Andrew denied her claims and insisted, in a carcrash Newsnight interview, that he could not recall ever meeting her.
Ghislaine Maxwell. British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell appears in the background of the infamous photograph of Prince Andrew with his arms around the waist of Virginia Giuffre, then aged 17. The photo was taken in her London pad. Maxwell was Epstein’s girlfriend and also the chief recruiter of the young women he would go on to exploit. She is serving a 20 year jail sentence in the US for sex trafficking. On her conviction, she said she "empathised deeply with all the victims in this case" and said that Epstein "fooled all of those in his orbit". When she toured Buckingham Palace in 2002, Maxwell was reportedly described as Andrew’s “ex-girlfriend”.
Peter Nygard. A third sex offender pal of Prince Andrew is the disgraced Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard. Nygard was convicted in 2023 of four counts of sexual assault against five women in his office in Toronto and jailed for 11 years. But his predatory behaviour went back years. Shortly after Nygard settled cases of sexual harassment against three women out of court in 2000, Prince Andrew visited the mogul's Caribbean estate with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. But there was no suggestion of impropriety by the Duke.
Ilham Aliyev. Prince Andrew appeared to have finally found the right Royal role in 2001 when he was appointed UK trade envoy. But his fondness for autocratic regimes soon became apparent. He faced criticism for his close relationship with Ilham Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan, who took over the running of the oil-rich former Soviet country from his father in 2003. In 2014, even after he was stripped of the envoy role, Andrew was reportedly jetting to Azerbaijan to meet Aliyev for a 12th time. Aliyev’s regime has been accused of widespread human rights abuses.
Timur Kulibayev. One of Andrew’s most lucrative associations was with the leaders of another autocratic ex-Soviet state - Kazakhstan. In 2007, Andrew sold his Sunninghill Park mansion to Kazakh oligarch Timur Kulibayev for £15 million. The property, a wedding gift from the Queen, had been on the market for five years. Kulibayev, the billionaire son-in-law of former Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev, is reportedly in talks to pay around $1 billion [£800m] to the Kazakh state in connection with a government probe but has declined to comment.
