Prince Andrew settles with Virginia Giuffre: Timeline of Duke of York’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

Prince had friendship with billionaire sex offender spanning more than a decade

The Duke of York has reached a settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who accused the royal of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.

In a joint statement confirming the settlement, the prince said he regretted his association with late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and “commends the bravery” of Ms Giuffre and other survivors of abuse.

Prince Andrew said he also accepted that Ms Giuffre is “an established victim of abuse” and that she had been subjected to “unfair public attacks”.

Here is a timeline of the duke's relationship with Epstein.

1999

Andrew first meets Epstein, reportedly introduced through his friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell.

Andrew welcomes Epstein to the Queen's private Scottish retreat in Aberdeenshire, the Daily Mail newspaper reported.

Andrew later says he sees Epstein “infrequently”, adding “probably no more than only once or twice a year”.

2000

Andrew and Ms Maxwell are seen on holiday with Epstein at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Epstein and Ms Maxwell attend a party at Windsor Castle hosted by the Queen to mark Andrew's 40th birthday, the Princess Royal's 50th, the Queen Mother's 100th and Princess Margaret's 70th.

2001

Virginia Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew “three times, including one orgy”, with the first encounter allegedly taking place in Ms Maxwell's London townhouse.

Ms Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew on two more occasions, at Epstein's New York home and at an “orgy” on his private island in the Caribbean.

2008

Epstein admits prostituting minors and is sentenced to 18 months in prison.

2010

Epstein is released from jail. Andrew is photographed with the disgraced Epstein in New York's Central Park.

Footage emerges years later, reportedly shot on December 6 2010, showing him inside Epstein's Manhattan mansion, from where he is seen looking out from a large door of the property waving a woman goodbye after Epstein leaves to get into a chauffeur-driven car.

2011

The duke quits his role as UK trade envoy after the fallout from the Central Park photos.

2015

Buckingham Palace denies Andrew has committed any impropriety after he is named in US court documents related to Epstein. A woman, later named in reports as Ms Roberts, alleges in papers filed in Florida that she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, which is under the age of consent in the state.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Andrew, in his first public engagement since he was embroiled in the allegations, responds, saying: “Firstly I think I must, and want, for the record, to refer to the events that have taken place in the last few weeks.

”I just wish to reiterate, and to reaffirm, the statements that have already been made on my behalf by Buckingham Palace.“

In April the claims against Andrew are struck from US civil court records following a federal judge's ruling.

2019

Newly released legal documents show that Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged Epstein victim, claimed Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire's Manhattan apartment in 2001.

Buckingham Palace said the allegations are ”categorically untrue“.

Epstein is found dead in his jail cell on August 10, having killed himself after being charged with sex trafficking.

Later that month a pilot on Epstein's private jet claims Andrew was a passenger on past flights with the financier and Ms Roberts.

The Sun newspaper reported that David Rodgers said in a testimony released in August that Epstein, Andrew and the-then 17-year-old travelled to the US Virgin Islands on April 11 2001.

Buckingham Palace describes the evidence statement as having ”a number of inconsistencies“ and said that Andrew was on a different continent in some cases.

Following Epstein's death, a statement from the palace says that Andrew is ”appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes“.

Breaking his silence on the issue for the first time since 2015, Andrew then releases a statement on August 24 saying: ”At no stage during the limited time I spent with him (Epstein) did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.“

In November, BBC Newsnight reveals the duke has spoken about his relationship with Epstein in a ”no holds barred“ interview.

Presenter Emily Maitlis wrote on Twitter that it was a ”no questions vetted“ exchange.

In the interview the duke said he had ”no recollection“ of ever meeting Ms Roberts and added he could not have had sex with her in March 2001 because he was at Pizza Express with daughter Beatrice on the day in question.

He added he ”did not regret“ his friendship with the sex offender but admitted he should not have gone to see him in New York in 2010 to break off their friendship.