The sad truth is that we are witnessing a legacy of the over-indulgent late queen: an organisation unable to meet today’s challenges

Curious that the Epstein scandal, which has caused such an overwhelming furore in the US, should so far have done more to damage the British royal family than the US presidency. Even though many Americans have an obsession with the minutiae of the monarchy and all its works – despite proudly revolting against the institution themselves 250 years ago – their concerns have understandably focused more on their own big beasts, Donald Trump and the Clintons, than ours. It’s as if King Charles and his brother, the artist now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, are some quaint curlicue, a baroque adornment to the main event. Which, of course, is how they see the British monarchy anyway.

Kings and queens have always been susceptible to men with money and power. In the past they were able to bestow both on their loyal followers. Now it is more transactional. It is evident that what appealed to Epstein was access to class and status: the chance to sit jokily on the throne in Buckingham Palace or have a weekend in Balmoral or Sandringham and thereby tie a susceptible royal into his web of contacts and obligations. What appealed to Andrew and his importunate and permanently hard-up former wife, Sarah, was access to cash and the luxuries that went with it. Hard to believe given the royal family’s wealth, but what probably appealed most was cosying up to the sort of money that has brownstone mansions in Manhattan to stay in and private islands for holidays in the Caribbean.

Stephen Bates is a former royal correspondent of the Guardian

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Peter Mandelson faces a criminal investigation over allegations he leaked Downing Street emails and market-sensitive information to the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2009. The Metropolitan police are investigating Mandelson, who was then business secretary, on suspicion of misconduct in public office, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Police are also reviewing fresh allegations about the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Lucy Hough speaks to the head of national news, Archie Bland.

Billionaires and intellectuals attended events with the disgraced financier years after he served time for sex offense, files reveal

Newly released emails and travel itineraries appear to show that for years after Jeffrey Epstein served time for procuring underage girls for prostitution, he continued to attend exclusive dinners alongside Silicon Valley’s most famous billionaires.

The emails, part of a trove released by the Department of Justice on Friday, show that as late as 2018, Epstein was invited to or attended dinners alongside the likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Google vice-president and later Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.

Exclusive: Police say they will review allegation that Epstein sent woman to UK to have sex with Andrew at Royal Lodge, his former home

British police are to review fresh allegations that Jeffrey Epstein provided Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with a woman to have sex with at the Royal Lodge in 2010, as it emerged that the former prince had moved out of his home.

The woman has claimed she spent the night at the then prince’s residence in Windsor, her US lawyer, Brad Edwards, said after the allegations surfaced over the weekend. The woman, who is not British, was in her 20s at the time, and was later given a tour of Buckingham Palace, it is further alleged.

Latest release of files about disgraced financier reveals she told Epstein he was ‘the brother I have always wished for

The charity of Sarah Ferguson has announced that it is closing after new revelations emerged about the former duchess’s friendship with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Sarah’s Trust, the international charity launched by the ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, will close “for the foreseeable future” after “some months” of discussion, according to a spokesperson.

Donald Trump claims that the release of millions more files related to Jeffrey Epstein 'absolve' him of wrongdoing, even though his name appears hundreds of times. The latest documents also indicate high-profile figures , including the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Labour peer Peter Mandelson, continued friendships with the disgraced financier after his child sex abuse convictions. So what have we learned from the newly released files and what happens next? Lucy Hough speaks to columnist and host of Politics Weekly America Jonathan Freedland

The bargain-bucket price tag on certain consciences is depressing. And the excuses of ignorance and amnesia are looking a little thin

The release of documents related to the sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has proceeded like a bankruptcy – first very slow, and then very fast; 3m items were dropped by the US Justice Department last Friday.

It’s interesting how many figures in public life have maintained they barely knew Epstein at all, since his arrest and death by suicide in 2019. It’s just about plausible from a business associate, I guess; you can imagine those relationships being pretty thin, emotionally speaking, revolving as they were around money.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Emails suggest Sarah Ferguson and former Prince Andrew contacted disgraced financier during his house arrest

The more than 3m Jeffrey Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice include emails from accounts labelled “The Duke” and “The Invisible Man” as well as from “Sarah”, and references to “Fergie”, suggesting they are from the former Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

They appear to reveal the two were in contact with Epstein immediately after the end of his house arrest in August 2010, and Mountbatten-Windsor’s visit to the US that December.

Keir Starmer among those suggesting Mountbatten-Windsor should appear before Congress following allegations of sexual encounter at Royal Lodge

A second woman has alleged that Jeffrey Epstein sent her to the UK to have a sexual encounter with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, according to her lawyer, as UK government pressure on the former prince to testify before the US Congress mounted.

The woman has claimed she spent the night at the former prince’s residence Royal Lodge in 2010, her US lawyer, Brad Edwards, told the BBC. The woman, who is not British, was in her 20s at the time, it was reported.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles last year, features heavily in the latest tranche of the Epstein files

Keir Starmer has said Andrew Mounbatten-Windsor should testify before the US Congress about his links to the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Journalists asked the prime minister, who is in Japan for a meeting with its PM, Sanae Takaichi, if the former prince should apologise to the disgraced financier’s victims and give evidence about what he knew of his crimes.

Latest documents indicate high-profile figures continued friendships with financier after child sex abuse convictions

The US justice department has released millions of files related to the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the largest disclosure by the government since a law passed last year said the documents should be published.

The disgraced financier was convicted of child sex offences in 2008 and the files indicate that many high-profile figures, including the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, continued friendships with him after this point.

This blog is now closed. Find more of our coverage on Jeffery Epstein here

• What have we learned from the newly released Epstein files?

According to one file, Mountbatten-Windsor was said to be “very focused” on financier Harlan Peltz’s girlfriend during a dinner with Maxwell.

The apparent FBI document details a 2020 interview with Peltz in which he provided information to agents about Maxwell.

Peltz was at a dinner with Maxwell and Prince Andrew and Peltz’s then girlfriend. Prince Andrew was very focused on Peltz’s girlfriend. Maxwell would sometimes mention Prince Andrew’s name and that they were friends.

Maxwell would have outrageous parties back then. She liked to put people in uncomfortable positions for her entertainment. Peltz realised that he was a pawn to her and she would try to use him. Sometime later on he found out that he was listed in Epstein’s black book.

People in the finance world never seemed to know how Epstein got his money.

Famous figures including Woody Allen were invited to party with disgraced financier and Mountbatten-Windsor, documents indicate

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor attended an intimate party with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein months after he was released from prison, files suggest.

The US justice department released another cache of documents relating to the disgraced financier on Friday.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Nach seinen Titeln verliert Andrew auch seinen Wohnsitz: König Charles will seinen Bruder in der renovierungsbedürftigen Marsh Farm einquartieren – für den Ex-Prinzen eine Demütigung.

Minutes of travel expenses of former Duke of York as UK trade envoy withheld from National Archives

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The Cabinet Office has been accused of covering up for the royal family after the release of documents including some relating to travel expenses for the former Duke of York as UK trade envoy were withheld at the last minute.

Files released to the National Archives include documents relating to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and a grovelling apology from John Major’s office after an official birthday telegram to the Queen Mother was addressed in an “improper manner”.

Our cartoonists look back at a year of covering tragedy, farce and everything in between – and having to draw far too many Donald Trumps

In a year in which I’ve drawn too many cartoons about powerful people acting with impunity, the fall of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor stood out to me as a rare win for justice and accountability. Dark humour feels vital to make light of everything that’s going wrong, but I’ve also been trying to draw cartoons that highlight reasons for hope, such as the fragile ceasefire in Gaza or Zohran Mamdani’s win in New York.

Marina Lacerda urges him to answer questions as Virginia Giuffre’s lawyer says anyone who accepted former royal’s denials ‘should be ashamed’

One of the victims of the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has called for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to answer questions in the US, while a lawyer for the former royal’s accuser said those who had previously believed his denials “should be ashamed of themselves”.

Speaking to the Guardian after the release of some of the Epstein files, the tranche of documents related to the disgraced financier, Marina Lacerda, an Epstein survivor, said Mountbatten-Windsor should be “brought to justice”.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s daughters seen at Sandringham church as more details about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein emerge

Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice attended church with the royal family on Christmas morning, in a year where their father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was stripped of his royal titles.

Mountbatten-Windsor’s two daughters could be seen walking behind King Charles III and Queen Camilla on their way to church on the private Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

Documents give further insight into former royal’s ties to sex offender and raise fresh questions for Donald Trump

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor asked Jeffrey Epstein’s fixer Ghislaine Maxwell to arrange meetings with “inappropriate friends” while she sought “friendly and discreet and fun” girls on his behalf, the latest documents from the Epstein files appear to show.

The largest release yet of files concerning the financier and convicted child sex offender – which also raise fresh questions for the US president, Donald Trump – include emails in the name of “A” exchanging detailed messages with Maxwell that appeared to identify the author as Andrew.

Emails recording that Britain’s Metropolitan police contacted the FBI last month to inquire whether there were any ongoing investigations related to the disgraced former prince’s association with Epstein.

Emails showing US lawyers claiming “various factual inaccuracies” in a statement provided on Andrew’s behalf during their investigation of Epstein.

Multiple references to Donald Trump, including a claim by a senior US attorney that Trump was on a flight in the 1990s with Epstein and a 20-year-old woman. There is no indication of whether the woman was a victim of any crime, and Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing.

Files featuring redactions that were found to be removable through Photoshop techniques or simply highlighting text to paste into a word processing file.