Andrew tried to have Epstein introduced to the UAE's Mohammed bin Zayed
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor tried to have convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein introduced in 2010 to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is now the president of the United Arab Emirates.
Mountbatten-Windsor, then known as Prince Andrew, vouched for Epstein while serving as Britain's trade envoy during a November 2010 state visit to the UAE, newly released files reveal.
On 24 November 2010, Andrew emailed Epstein with the subject line "Abdullah" - an apparent reference to the UAE's then foreign affairs minister Abdullah bin Zayed.
"You are in big time," Andrew told Epstein. "He thinks you are great and would like to introduce you to Sheikh Mohammed, the Crown Prince.
"Doesn’t think it can be done before the end of the year though. I will discuss further and report back."
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The email was sent when Andrew was in the UAE with his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, as well as his late father Prince Philip and the then foreign secretary William Hague.
Epstein wrote to Andrew: "Ask Abdullah for a date when we can all go on vacation".
In an earlier email, sent on 7 November, Epstein said he had met Abdullah bin Zayed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.
Epstein told Andrew in another email to vouch for him with Abdullah bin Zayed, urging him to tell the foreign minister about his "financial expertise", and that Epstein was a "funder of extreme science" and "fun".
Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.
The UAE in the Epstein files
Figures linked to the UAE appear extensively in the Epstein files, which include emails detailing a shipment of sacred cloth from the Kaaba in Mecca to the US arranged through UAE-based businesswoman Aziza al-Ahmadi.
The files also show that Donald Trump's former adviser Steve Bannon accused Mohammed bin Zayed of “coughing up” convicted sex offender George Nader to US authorities in a 2019 email to Epstein. Nader was an adviser to Mohammed bin Zayed, then the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.
Andrew was stripped of his royal title by his brother King Charles last year over revelations of his close links to Epstein and is now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Andrew long insisted he had cut ties with Epstein after his imprisonment.
But that claim was exploded this week when files revealed that Andrew's aide David Stern acted as an intermediary between Epstein and the then-prince years after Epstein was convicted of child sex offences.
Andrew has been forced to move out of his home in the Royal Lodge, Windsor, and has departed early as controversy grows.
He is reportedly struggling to find staff willing to serve him in his new home.
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