Queen Elizabeth Blindly Covered Up Ex-Prince Andrew's Epstein Ties, Royal Insider Claims

Queen Elizabeth II is facing posthumous claims that she 'always' shielded ex-Prince Andrew and quietly helped bury questions over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, with one alleged royal insider insisting the late monarch 'turned a blind eye' to warnings about her favourite son.

The news came after US outlet Globe reported that Queen Elizabeth used her influence in London more than 25 years ago to push for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to be appointed as the UK's globetrotting trade envoy, a role that sources now allege opened the door to questionable dealings with Epstein. The paper links that appointment, fresh allegations of misconduct in public office, and even longstanding conspiracy theories around Princess Diana's death into one sprawling challenge to the Queen's carefully curated legacy.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Andrew's Epstein Connections

Andrew's association with Jeffrey Epstein has dogged the Royal Family for years, ending with the Duke of York losing his HRH style, being stripped of military patronages and stepping back from public duties. According to Globe, newly released documents from 2000 show the Queen expressed her 'wish' that Andrew be made trade envoy, a preference said to have been relayed in a 'wide-ranging discussion' between her private secretary and David Wright, then head of British Trade International.

Sources quoted by the tabloid insist that role was more than ceremonial. They allege the ex-prince's government-backed position may have enabled a quiet kickback scheme, with Andrew supposedly earning commissions from deals Epstein brokered with wealthy clients. None of these claims has been tested in court, and Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Late financier and convicted fraudster Steven Hoffenberg, described as a former business associate of Epstein, told Globe in 2021 that Andrew 'was rewarded handsomely' for his involvement. Hoffenberg died later that year after publicly turning on Epstein, and his comments are now being recycled as a key plank in the case some critics are trying to build against the Queen's judgement.

One alleged royal insider goes further still, telling the magazine: 'The queen was always protecting Andrew at all costs, and it was known that he was her favorite child. She knew about everything — Epstein, the girls, the trafficking. She just turned a blind eye to it.' That allegation is unverified and rests entirely on unnamed sources.

Some elements are on firmer ground. Globe reports that Andrew, now 66, was arrested on 19 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, over claims he shared trade secrets with Epstein while serving as trade envoy. He was released without charge but remains under investigation, and officers have publicly urged witnesses and potential victims to come forward.

'We hope that anyone with relevant information will come forward whenever they are ready to engage with us; our door is always open,' assistant chief constable Oliver Wright said in documents cited by CNN.

A Favourite Son and a Growing Cloud

The Queen's alleged role is framed as part maternal loyalty, part constitutional muscle. Insiders quoted by Globe say Elizabeth II 'always' protected Andrew 'at all costs', with his status as her favourite child driving decisions others inside the palace considered reckless.

Charles, now King at 77, is said to have opposed Andrew's appointment as trade envoy, viewing his brother as unreliable. According to the magazine, the then-Prince of Wales was overruled after former UK Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson backed the move. Mandelson, 72, was himself arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office and released without charge. Emails he allegedly sent Epstein while in cabinet are said to contain confidential government material, which he denies mishandling.

From there, Globe plunges into darker territory. Its sources claim both the Andrew–Epstein saga and lingering suspicion over Princess Diana's 1997 death 'are threatening to ruin' the late Queen's reputation. The outlet revives long-standing conspiracy theories that Elizabeth helped cover up a supposed 'murder' of Diana to shield the monarchy and protect Charles. None of this has been substantiated by official inquiries.

The magazine then splices in material from a US Department of Justice document dump on Epstein released in January. By its account, the papers suggest Epstein had a fixation on Diana and allegedly trafficked a woman to billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed, who died alongside her in Paris. Again, these are claims being pushed by the tabloid and unnamed 'tipsters', not verified findings.

Investigators are also said to be probing whether Alisa Dmitrijeva, a 17-year-old Latvian girl whose body was found on the Sandringham estate in 2012 after months missing, might have been one of Epstein's trafficking victims. 'Some are convinced the palace tried to cover up that incident, as well,' a source tells the outlet.

Threats of a Tell-All and a Legacy Under Pressure

Layered on top of all this is a fresh piece of palace intrigue: the claim that Andrew is now threatening to write a tell-all book about the royals. According to Globe, another unnamed source says the ex-prince is considering lifting the lid on 'bone-chilling secrets' his mother took to the grave, including what he allegedly believes is the 'truth' about Diana's death and the circumstances of his father Prince Philip's final years.

Philip died in 2021 at 99. The magazine repeats long-circulating gossip that he and the Queen were effectively living separate lives by then, and that the Duke of Edinburgh had grown 'extremely close' to Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, now 73. None of that has been confirmed by the palace.

What emerges from Globe's patchwork of documents, anonymous briefings and revived conspiracy theories is a picture of a monarch who, in this telling, allowed personal affection for a son to override political instinct, and may now see her reputation dragged back into the mud as authorities pick through the wreckage of Epstein's world. Or, perhaps more accurately, of a royal family still finding that the past is not finished with them, no matter how carefully the curtains are drawn.