A biographer of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, says documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice relating to Jeffrey Epstein were altered to remove references linking Donald Trump to the disgraced British royal. The claim comes as renewed scrutiny of Epstein’s network places figures on both sides of the Atlantic back under the spotlight.
Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, made the remarks during an appearance on The Court of History, a podcast hosted by Sidney Blumenthal and historian Sean Wilentz. Lownie rejected Trump’s repeated claims that he did not know Prince Andrew, saying the two men had a close relationship that is no longer fully reflected in the released files.
“The connections with Trump are very close,” Lownie said, per Raw Story. “Clearly this stuff’s been taken out of the released papers. Andrew and Trump had a very close relationship.” He cited shared social circles, overlapping business interests, and photographs showing the two men together over several years.
A photo of Donald Trump’s good friend Prince Andrew.
You are who you hang out with… pic.twitter.com/iLjaNIKyLw
— The Green Dragon Tavern (@greendragonhq) February 1, 2026
Trump has publicly denied knowing Prince Andrew, including comments made in 2019 after Epstein’s death. “I don’t know Prince Andrew,” Trump said at the time, a statement contradicted by photos taken in London, New York, and at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Lownie said Andrew was tasked with accompanying Trump during visits to the UK and described interactions involving golf courses in Scotland and meetings in New York. “There’s a whole panoply of links between the two of them,” he said.
The Epstein files, released in batches by the DOJ, contain millions of documents related to the convicted sex offender, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The releases have been heavily redacted, and the DOJ has said no further disclosures are planned.
Prince Andrew was just stripped of royal titles for working with Epstein—now do Trump.
TRUMP: I don’t know Prince Andrew, it’s a tough story. I don’t know him, no.
FOX: Here is a photo of Trump alongside the Prince and First Lady at his party at Mar-a-Lago with Epstein, too.… pic.twitter.com/1pQSeFnnjK
— LongTime🤓FirstTime👨💻 (@LongTimeHistory) October 18, 2025
Prince Andrew’s relationship with Epstein has already had lasting consequences. In 2022, he reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein of trafficking her to the prince when she was a teenager. Andrew denied the allegations and admitted no wrongdoing but later lost his military titles and royal patronages. Giuffre died last year.
The most recent Epstein file release included additional photographs of Andrew with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
Lownie also revisited claims involving Melania Trump, saying HarperCollins removed a passage from his book after legal threats. The passage alleged that Epstein introduced Melania to Donald Trump, a claim Lownie said originated from Epstein himself during interviews recorded for a 2007 documentary. Trump biographer Michael Wolff has also reported the allegation. Melania Trump previously threatened Wolff with a defamation lawsuit, which Wolff countered with his own legal filing.
🚨HOLY SHIT: Michael Wolff, the author Trump is threatening to sue after falsely accusing him of conspiring with the Epstein estate to “politically harm” him, says if Trump sues, he’ll ask the Trumps under oath whether Epstein introduced Melania to Donald.
GO AHEAD AND SUE,… pic.twitter.com/reKA0kTNot
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) February 4, 2026
During the podcast, Blumenthal noted that newly released files include correspondence in which Melania Trump wrote to Maxwell, referring to her as “sweet pea.”
Lownie placed Andrew’s connections within a broader network, referencing British politician Peter Mandelson, who has faced questions over past financial ties to Epstein. Mandelson has denied wrongdoing. Lownie also pointed to overlapping social events and shared associates, including business leaders and political figures in the U.S. and UK.
As Epstein-related disclosures continue to surface, Lownie said the pattern that stands out is not isolated relationships but how closely connected powerful figures were — and how selectively those connections now appear in official records.
