Police Scotland are conducting investigations into the time Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, former Prince Andrew, spent at the Royal Family estate in Balmoral with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell, authorities have confirmed. Police Scotland said in a statement to Global News that investigations began after receiving “information” and that the investigation was at a “very early stage.” 6:14 Former Prince Andrew takes police to court over Epstein files arrest Previous video Next video Story continues below Advertisement The department’s response came after British newspaper The Daily Express reported on the investigation and alleged that the investigations were linked to allegations that women were trafficked to a private estate in the Scottish Highlands. “Survivors are at the center of those investigations,” police continued. “We would never confirm details of ongoing investigations and it would be inappropriate to comment further.” 2:02 UK police expand investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for possible sexual offences. Police have not said what the investigations are about or what information they are investigating. Get daily national news Get daily Canadian news delivered to your inbox so you never miss the day’s top stories. Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from underage girls. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking of a minor; They visited Balmoral Castle in 1999 as guests of Mountbatten-Windsor, according to the BBC and The Guardian. Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in a federal prison camp in Texas. This undated photograph released by the US Department of Justice shows Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. US Department of Justice via AP The Scottish investigation follows Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest by police in England in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with her ties to Epstein. During his time as the United Kingdom’s trade envoy, the former prince allegedly shared confidential information with the former New York City businessman. His arrest was the first time in almost four centuries that British police had detained a senior royal. Earlier this month, a UK judge ruled that warrants obtained to search Mountbatten-Windsor’s home in light of her arrest were unlawful. More on Trends More Videos Mountbatten-Windsor has not been charged with any crime and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing regarding Epstein. Several other UK police forces, including London’s Metropolitan Police Service, Thames Valley Police and Surrey Police, are also investigating information released in Epstein’s files by the US Department of Justice earlier this year. 0:37 84% of Canadians want former Prince Andrew to be removed from the line of succession. Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to Epstein have been a sore point for the royal family for more than a decade and led to her older brother, King Charles III, stripping her of her title as “prince.” His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, removed Mountbatten-Windsor’s military titles and royal patronages and banned him from wearing the official style of “Her Royal Highness,” months before she died in 2022. The king also ordered Mountbatten-Windsor to leave Royal Lodge, his former residence near Windsor Castle. He now lives in a house in Sandringham, the king’s private estate in eastern England. Andrew’s connection to Epstein is also linked to claims made by Virginia Giuffre, an outspoken victim of Epstein and Maxwell, who settled a civil sexual assault lawsuit against Mountbatten Windsor out of court in 2022. She had long claimed that she was trafficked to Britain to have sex with the former prince in 2001, when she was just 17 years old. Details of her interactions with the former prince, including the alleged sexual assaults, were revealed in detail in her posthumously published memoir, Nobody’s Girl. Giuffre committed suicide last year.—with files from Associated Press © 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.