Home > FEATURES & SCANDALS

Royal Author Makes Bombshell Claims About Andrew Staying at Epstein’s Zorro Ranch

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor attends the 2011 Centennial Of Naval Aviation Gala at the National Building Museum on December 1, 2011, in Washington, DC (Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Leigh Vogel)
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor attends the 2011 Centennial Of Naval Aviation Gala at the National Building Museum on December 1, 2011, in Washington, DC (Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Leigh Vogel)
Feb. 18 2026, Published 07:02 AM. ET
Link to Facebook Share to X Share to Flipboard Share to Email

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of sexual abuse that some readers may find distressing.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lost everything he clung to, but his name refuses to fade from the headlines. The latest development—police assessments linked to flights on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet—has once again placed the former Duke of York at the center of uncomfortable questions. Essex Police are now assessing trafficking allegations tied to claims that women were flown in and out of the UK via Stansted Airport on Epstein’s plane. It is reportedly the third police force to examine matters connected to Mountbatten-Windsor.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor speaks as he hosts a Pitch@Palace event at Buckingham Palace. (Image Source: Getty Images | Steve Parsons – WPA Pool)
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor speaks as he hosts a Pitch@Palace event at Buckingham Palace (Image Source: Getty Images | Steve Parsons/WPA Pool)

Historian Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, argues that before the recent release of further Epstein files, he, in his book, had mentioned an unnamed “female” allegedly brought into the UK aboard Epstein’s aircraft via RAF Marham. Among those reportedly on the flight was businessman Tom Pritzker, who has since resigned from Hyatt Hotels, following renewed focus on his links to Epstein.

In December 2000, Epstein, Maxwell, Pritzker, and others—including an unnamed 'female'—reportedly landed at RAF Marham for a two-day shooting party at Sandringham, where Mountbatten-Windsor is said to have hosted a surprise birthday celebration for Maxwell, Lownie wrote.

Beyond the aviation allegations, Lownie took to his Substack and also pointed to claims of misconduct in public office that are being assessed by Thames Valley Police and the Crown Prosecution Service. He said that earlier reporting—including Bloomberg’s revelations about Mountbatten-Windsor’s relationship with financier David Rowling—alongside his own findings about how the former Duke allegedly leveraged his role as Trade Envoy, should have prompted an investigation sooner.

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor attends day eleven of the Wimbledon Tennis Championship. (Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor attends day eleven of the Wimbledon Tennis Championship (Image Source: Getty Images | Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Lownie also revisited the excerpt from his book Entitled, during the early 2000s, a period in which Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were central figures in his social world. In October 2000, Andrew attended a dinner in New York hosted by then consul-general Thomas Harris before heading to Heidi Klum’s annual Halloween party at the Hudson nightclub—themed that year “Hookers and Pimps.”

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor attends the Easter service at St George's Chapel. (Cover Image Source: Getty Images| Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor attends the Easter service at St. George's Chapel (Image Source: Getty Images | Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Mountbatten-Windsor also travelled to Epstein’s 8,000-acre Zorro Ranch in New Mexico. His police protection officer’s diary reportedly recorded that he stayed in a three-bedroom building near the ranch entrance. The ranch’s former housekeeper, Deirdre Stratton, later claimed he spent much of his visit with Dr. Melanie Walker, a neurosurgeon whom Epstein had supported financially during her training. A former ranch employee described Walker as “incredibly charming … one of the most intelligent figures I ever met in Jeffrey’s world,” adding that she and Mountbatten-Windsor were frequently together.

Walker later moved into prominent global health and technology circles and was said to have introduced Epstein to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. In a 2003 interview, she characterized her connection to Mountbatten-Windsor as platonic. “I’ve known Andrew almost five years. He is a good friend, but that’s all it is … I probably see him for dinner at least once a year … He has a reputation as a womanizing sort of guy. But he’s not … He calls me Mel and addresses me ‘Hey dork’ or ‘smarty pants’ … We speak mostly about science and medicine.”

If you are being subjected to sexual assault, or know of anyone who is, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673)

If you know of any children who are being subjected to abuse, please contact The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at (800) 422-4453

GET BREAKING ROYAL NEWS
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

More Stories