Andrew & Ghislaine
The intimate history behind the Oxford grad and the "playboy" Prince
I’ll be unfolding a new series here in the coming weeks, examining Ghislaine Maxwell from a layered perspective, based on the conversations I’ve had over the past few months with people who knew her in various stages and settings of her life. Details, most are only willing to share under the cloak of anonymity.
But because I know we all appreciate connecting themes and synchronicity, I figured it was a good time to zero in on one significant chapter of Ghislaine’s past that collides two major storylines. And hopefully answers the demands in my DM’s, requesting that I address the Royal family’s connection to Jeffery and Ghislaine, and the monumental effect their connection with Andrew has had on the Monarchy. A friendship that would ultimately cost him his uniform and title. Thanks to the exposed cramped sexcapade with Virginia Guifrre, 17 at the time, in Ghislaine Maxwell’s Belgravia bathroom that permanently tainted the reputation of the Queen’s favorite son. (even this will become a more complicated angle once we dive deeper into this series.)
"You must do for him what you do for Jeffery," Ghislaine allegedly told Virginia the morning she was set to meet the Prince. Her demands were subtle but direct. The girls knew exactly what was expected of them when they were paid to entertain these “friends.”
In recent interviews, leading up to Virginia Guiffre’s lawsuit, Andrew tried (with pathetic attempt) to downplay not only the bathroom incident but his longstanding relationship with Maxwell. Stating, and I quote, “I didn’t know her that well.” Quite the contrary, actually. Andrew knew Ghislaine better (and longer) than most. A denial we will see repeated throughout. When High-powered men are left scrambling in the wake of her arrest, attempting to erase all evidence of their connection when the perks of her affiliation turn on them.
The fact is, the friendship between “Randy Andy” and “Good Time Ghislaine” spans decades. They were romantically and sexually involved on and off throughout the years, solidifying another steady theme that centers on the weaponization of sex. Be it hers or someone else’s, sex was always at the root of Jeffery and Ghislaine’s evolving power.
What is more shocking, is the twisted dynamics at play inside this bizarre love triangle, with Ghislaine keeping up a sexual relationship with Andrew during her ongoing involvement with Epstein. And while the nature of her and Epstein’s affection throughout the years is still a mystery that leans heavily on pure speculation, she was essentially pitting these two awkward billionaires against one another to propel her own increasing ambitions.
Both men offered her significant security and advancement. If Andrew was her claim to old money, power, and connection, Jeffery was her new. Instead of choosing one over the other, she melded their attention.
Leaving the wedding with Andrew
In the few still-shot photos that exist of the trio, the tension between them is almost palpable. But not the least bit surprising. Imagine these two men, with opposing backgrounds, conflicting skills, and massive egos, hitting it off instantaneously. This was Ghislaine’s most profitable gift. Working as a beautiful, magnetic buffer to draw in and bind together unexpected people of power, into these opulent cliques she created and eventually compromised.
In the photos, Andrew appears aloof and unsteady while Jeffery looks lock jawed and uncomfortable. The only person who seems entirely at ease at the center of this uncomfortable mix is Ghislaine herself. Who was secretly (or not so secretly) bedding them both.
But let’s rewind.
In the beginning: the Maxwell family’s proximity to the Windsors made perfect sense. Bob Maxwell worked his way into the upper echelon of British high society, so he was often in attendance at the same charity, sporting, and social events. By this time he was a prominent force in the Uk. Revered for his impressive (self-built) media empire that was now stretching its sights across the pond in hopes of dominating the states next. Because of his epic success, despite no royal blood ties or official title, the Maxwells were easily embraced by royal pedigree. And Bob was fond of the Queen. As you can see in the photo below, she looks just as charmed as anyone during this era, in the presence of Bob Maxwell on his best behavior. Before the facade started to crumble and his crimes came exposed.
Note the twinkle in her eye, due perhaps to a compliment about her horses or a recent winning streak at the races.
Whatever the case, her delight is genuine and his effect, obvious.
Diana, apparently, was not as impressed by Bob.
It should come as no shock to anyone who knows anything about these two women that Ghislaine and Princess Diana didn’t vibe. They were, by all regards, stark opposites. One was a coy virgin, a school teacher blushing over the photos of her in an accidentally sheer skirt showing the outline of her legs that sprung in the tabloids, and the other, a sex-obsessed extrovert, with an Oxford degree, known for indulging young men with blowjobs in public bathrooms during these glamorous parties, touting her sexuality at every opportunity.
Ghislaine, because of her beauty and respected wealth, was expected to marry up. At least this is what her father counted on. To further elevate the Maxwell legacy.
In the photos of him conversing with Prince Charles, a young William at his leg, the unspoken plotting of intentions can be assumed. Charles at that point was already taken, but Andrew was still very much on the market. If not a Kennedy (his first preference) a Windsor would surely do.
“Ghislaine’s like: ‘Look, there we made her [Diana] cry, isn’t that funny? We hated Diana,'" Farmer recalled Maxwell saying of knowing the royal, per The Royal Observer.
Oxford Introductions: The bond stems back to Ghislaine’s University years. She was a regular on the Oxford party scene and had earned a reputation for being a vivacious young woman with sharp intellect and a liberal view of sex.
Christina Oxenberg, Andrew’s second cousin who wrote a book dedicated to trashing her close encounters with Ghislaine, recounted (with obvious disgust) in a recent documentary her first introduction to Ghislaine. Recalling how the dark-eyed stranger took a step back, to give the length of her body a good long scan, before asking, “what IS THIS?” to Oxenberg’s boyfriend, before whisking him away by the arm into the crowd without her.
Her reputation as a flirtatious, witty carouser, the center of attention at every party she appeared at, is echoed by nearly anyone who knew her during this era.
Another old classmate recalls a “dirty party” game Ghislaine initiated. Where the boys were lined up and blindfolded, to then have the girls then pass by them topless, letting each of the players cop a feel to see who could pick their partner based on the shape and feel of their breasts.
“She had a filthy sense of humor even back then, but my God we loved her for it,” the classmate recalls.
Andrew, like all of the young men in her orbit during this era, was lured by these antics, as a flamboyant party girl “always up for a good time.”
Campus parties, where the nickname ‘Good Time Ghislaine’ was earned
University Friends Remember:
“She was a bit of a tomboy. At university whenever we went on a boy’s night out, she would be the only girl with us. Guys always loved hanging out with her. She was naughty, funny, and very worldly. She was as comfortable at Buckingham Palace as she was at a hip-hop convention - a chameleon who fit in everywhere.”
“She was very beautiful, very confident, very clever. But she could also be a piece of work. You didn’t want to cross her.”
“A friend of Prince Andrews described her as clever and manipulative”
Andrew and she ran into each other at the popular nightclubs regularly. Andrew was seen as the ultimate catch, a handsome “war hero” upon his return from fighting the war in Falklands.
Andrew’s Marriage, 1986
A year after Ghislaine graduated Andrew married Fergie, creating a new distance between the two old friends. While Andrew was concentrating on his new family, Ghislaine fled to the states to start a new life, and escape the weight of the scandal that erupted after her father died.
The Divorce: The marriage didn’t last long. Amidst a throng of affair rumors, Fergie and Andrew separated in 1992.
Ghislaine, who had come to befriend Fergie, was quick to side with Andrew. She rushed to his rescue, amidst the divorce. As the new darling of New York society, she was eager to show off her newly carved persona and introduce the Prince to her adoring circle.
The Palace Reign: Paul Page, who worked at the Palace from 1998 to 2004, revealed recently that he and his colleagues always suspected that Andrew was romantically involved with Ghislaine.
Page said he would see Ghislaine coming and going from Andrew's apartments “quite frequently.” That she had "unrestricted access" at Buckingham Palace. He revealed that the cops were told to “simply wave her in whenever she arrived to see the Duke.”
She was allowed to enter and exit the Palace night and day at will," he told The Sun Online.
he said that he and his colleagues were instructed to keep her name out of the visitor’s book, which was "highly unusual.”
"We assumed they didn't want any evidence of her visiting the palace, perhaps because she was Robert Maxwell's daughter - it wouldn't have been a good look.”
"We would wave her in and she would go straight to the quad and straight up to the Duke of York's apartments.”
Ghislaine and Andrew's friendship became more prominent in the early 2000s - with him spotted with her and Epstein at a tennis tournament at Donald Trump's resort Mar-a-Lago in February 2000.
Vanity Fair reported that friends claimed Andrew changed his lifestyle as he became closer to Maxwell. “Andrew’s a very poor judge of character, easily impressed," a source was reported to have said in the Evening Standard. “He’s gone from this couch potato to man about town, with nothing better to do than go from one holiday to the next."
It was reported the duo was together at least eight times in the year 2000 - and were seen on various nightspots in London.
Pictures from this period capture the fact Andrew appears to have become firm friends with Ghislaine.
The Duke was pictured leaving an intimate lunch date with Ghislaine at Nello's in New York in April 2000, where he was reported to be "holding hands with “his new love".
From the Docuseries “Ghislaine, Partner in Crime” on Paramount
Dance of the Decades: To top it off, in June 2000 at a grand celebration hosted by the Queen, in honor of several big family birthdays, Andrew, Princess Anne, Princess Margaret, and The Queen Mother turned 40, 50, 70, and 100, Ghislaine and Jeffery scored an invite. Per Andrew’s request.
Later, the two were photographed together at the wedding of Aurelia Cecil and Rupert Stephenson in Compton Chamberlayne in 2000 where they kept a cautious distance, but arrived and left together in the same car.
From the Docuseries “Ghislaine, Partner in Crime” on Paramount
“Pimps and hookers" party, 2000: Ironic enough, eh? A hooker-themed bash for Hedi Kulm’s birthday was thrown in New York where Andrew was photographed partying with Ghislaine, Trump, and Klum.
The pheasant shoot excursion: Was Another brag-worthy invite, hosted by Andrew at the Sandringham Estate. The trip included a weekend getaway for Jeffery and Ghislaine at the Queen’s beloved estate in Balmoral. A photo first exposed at the trial shows a relaxed Ghisaline leaning into Epstein in front of the iconic log cabin. A serene smirk on her face, a hand on his lap.
Not long afterward, Andrew was snapped on a wild holiday with Epstein and Maxwell where he reportedly visited several red-light district clubs and partied with topless women on a yacht in Phuket, Thailand. Maxwell reportedly accompanied him to bars around a Patong resort town on the island, staffed by semi-naked go-go dancers.
A framed photo of Andrew at Epstein’s
In the end, the friendship between the three would implode with Epstein’s arrest. Leading up to that, however, Epstein and Maxwell had successfully embedded themselves into the inner workings of the Royal family. To the point that Epstein was in communication with members of the Queen’s staff about handling some of her money and investments. He loaned Fergie money, to help pay off her debut and accompanied Ghislaine and Kevin Spacey on a free-roaming tour of the palace directed by Andrew.
A palace tour
The question that looms now is, did the Queen know the truth about her son’s sordid connections with these people? That I highly doubt. At this point, not many did.
Did she pay off the settlement that spared Andrew a public trial? This is more likely. But is it that sensational, considering all the dirty politics we see and accept from ruling men, that a head of state would pay for a major scandal (shadowing the last leg of her life) to go away? Or do the harshest criticisms still focus hardest on women in power?
A topic to be continued here.
Interesting. I bet you know more about Meghan Markel on a yacht years before she met Harry doing some dirty work to get in well with the royals... it all comes together.
Is that Billy Clinton in the black shirt of the palace tour picture of Andy? 😳