Police Scotland Opens Probe Into Epstein Visit to Balmoral

Police Scotland has launched an investigation into the visit of former Prince Andrew to the Balmoral estate in the Scottish Highlands. The probe focuses on the time he spent with the late Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell at the site, which is currently the private residence of King Charles III. Authorities announced the move on Friday.

The force stated that the inquiries began after it received specific information. Police Scotland described the investigation as being at a very early stage. The department did not specify what the information contained or which offenses officers are examining. It also noted that it would not confirm details of ongoing inquiries.

The Daily Express was the first outlet to report on the investigation. The newspaper indicated that the probes relate to claims that women were trafficked to the royal estate. Police Scotland issued a statement emphasizing that all inquiries are evidence-led and place the needs of victim survivors at the center of the process.

Images published by the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year show Epstein and Maxwell on a shooting trip at Balmoral in 1999. These photographs were part of millions of pages of documents released by the department while Congress examined Epstein's connections to global leaders. The presence of a name or image in these files does not constitute proof of criminal activity.

Other U.K. police forces, including the Metropolitan Police Service, Thames Valley Police, and Surrey Police, are also reviewing information from the Epstein files. In February, Thames Valley officers arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office based on the same released documents.

Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, was held for several hours before being released on police bail pending further investigation. This was the first arrest of a senior British royal in nearly four centuries. The former prince has consistently denied committing any crimes.

His relationship with Epstein has affected the monarchy for almost two decades. In 2011, Virginia Giuffre alleged that Epstein trafficked her and forced her to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor when she was 17. After Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008, Mountbatten-Windsor's ties to the financier became a source of ongoing scrutiny for the royal family.

Late last year, King Charles III stripped his brother of his princely title as U.S. authorities prepared to release more documents. Mountbatten-Windsor was also ordered to leave the Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle. He now resides in a house at Sandringham, the king's privately owned estate in eastern England.