A Royal Ascot waitress is the woman at centre of ex-Prince Andrew inappropriate behaviour allegations, as bombshell new claims are brought to light
The woman who is at the centre of allegations of inappropriate behaviour at Royal Ascot by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was working as a waitress, it was claimed.
It was revealed last week that detectives were examining an alleged incident at Ascot as part of a wider investigation into Andrew over the offence of misconduct in public office. Andrew was said to have behaved inappropriately toward her in 2002 when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, attended the racing festival with other senior royals during her Golden Jubilee year.
Police didn’t comment on when they were first made aware of the allegation. But it is believed it was not reported by staff to racecourse management at the time.
Buckingham Palace said: “Since there is an ongoing police inquiry concerning Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, it is not possible to provide any comment on these matters.”
The Sunday Times reported the latest allegations at it was confirmed that Andrew attended at least two of the five days of the festival in the Berkshire town in June 2002. He was photographed alongside his older brother, the future King, and his younger brother, Prince Edward.
A highlight of the annual sporting and social calendar, Royal Ascot lays on lavish hospitality, including champagne lunches, for its guests, and hires hundreds of additional catering staff on temporary contracts.
In 2000, Andrew hosted Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced paedophile financier, and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, in the royal enclosure on Ladies’ Day. He last attended the event in the summer of 2019, months before he was forced to step back from his royal duties after an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight programme, in which he failed to express any sympathy for Epstein’s victims.
In February, Andrew was arrested on his 66th birthday at his new home on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office (MiPO).
He was held in custody for 11 hours before being released under investigation. Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing.
Detectives at Thames Valley Police were focusing on Andrew’s 10-year stint as a government trade envoy from 2001-11. During this time, files released by the US Justice Department suggested he shared confidential government reports with Epstein.
However, the force disclosed this month that its inquiry was considering a much wider range of potential crimes than was previously understood, including sexual offences and corruption. Police chiefs said any new evidence could either form part of its MiPO investigation or be pursued as “standalone” offences.
Asked a series of questions about the alleged incident at Royal Ascot, a Thames Valley spokeswoman said: “We cannot go into specifics of our ongoing investigation, but we are following all reasonable lines of inquiry.”
Ascot Racecourse declined to comment. However, a source indicated that it would co-operate with police if asked to do so.
Yesterday, BBC News reported that emails appeared to show Andrew sharing confidential government information with a business associate were passed to Buckingham Palace six years ago.
The emails were alleged to have been stolen from Jonathan Rowland, whose banker father, David, has been described by Andrew as his “trusted money man”. The cache of documents formed part of a High Court dispute between the Rowlands and a business rival, Kevin Stanford, who is said to have passed on the emails to the lord chamberlain, the most senior figure in the royal household, in May 2020.
The King has previously offered to “fully co-operate” with the police investigation into Andrew. Andrew has always insisted he has done nothing wrong and denies all the allegations against him.
