Prince Andrew ‘appalled’ by sex abuse claims surrounding his paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein

Prince Andrew’s efforts to distance himself from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal were thrown into turmoil last night as details emerged of how he hosted the paedophile and his entourage at Balmoral.

One of the young women on the trip told the Daily Mail how the prince personally welcomed the party to the castle in mid-1999 – after the disgraced US financier had already begun recruiting dozens of underage girls as sex slaves.

It comes after revelations that Andrew even visited Epstein – who killed himself in prison this month – at his home in New York in 2010. This was two years after Epstein had been convicted of sex with a child.

Last night, Prince Andrew said he was ‘appalled’ by the allegations about Epstein.

The Duke has been supported by the Queen in the wake of renewed scrutiny after Epstein’s death, namely by allowing him to sit next to her during a trip to Balmoral (pictured) last week 

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: ‘The Duke of York has been appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes.

‘His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behaviour is abhorrent.’

Footage obtained by the Mail On Sunday showing the Duke Of York inside the paedophile’s Manhattan mansion has forced the Royal to finally break his silence on his relationship with the billionaire 

Earlier that day, wrapped up against the cold in a fur-trimmed coat, Epstein glances towards his chauffeur-driven black Bentley

Following him, a young blonde-haired woman with a ponytail emerges from behind the imposing Manhattan home’s 15ft-high oak doors in a flimsy grey sweater

In footage from 2010 published by The Mail on Sunday, the Duke of York was shown grinning from the doorway of Epstein’s mansion – dubbed the ‘House of Horrors’ by some of his victims – as a number of very young women leave and enter.

He is seen waving a woman goodbye after Epstein leaves to get in a chauffeur-driven car. 

Speaking on condition of anonymity yesterday, the woman who joined Epstein at Balmoral 20 years ago recalled making ‘chitchat’ with the prince.

‘He was really nice. He was very polite. [He had his] guard up,’ said the woman, who was then a model in her 20s. 

She told how the group stayed overnight at the 52-bedroom castle, and spent the following day being entertained in the grounds.

The visit is thought to have taken place in late summer or early autumn – when the Queen is likely to have been in residence.

Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell in a New York jail earlier this month while facing new allegations of sex trafficking

The Duke has vehemently denied claims by Epstein’s alleged ‘sex slave’ Virginia Roberts (right) that she had sex with the Prince on three occasions, the first when she was 17 and once at the US millionaire’s now-notorious 40-room mansion at 9 East 71st Street in Manhattan

Epstein and his entourage visited the estate as part of a week-long trip to the UK, during which they also stayed at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s ex-partner who has been accused of lining up underage girls for him to have sex with. 

The woman who joined them on the trip – not long after she had started giving sexual massages to Epstein – recalled how she had felt like she was in a ‘fairytale’, brushing with royalty. But now she says she had no idea why she was ever included in the visit.

‘Why was I really there?’ she said. ‘Did [Epstein] really enjoy my company all that much or was I being prepped to end up being sent out like a gift to some people?’  

She avoided any plans Epstein may have had for her that evening by retiring to bed early. 

Royal family members joined the Queen, sporting a smart pale blue coat dress with a matching hat adorned with a large flower, for a Sunday Service at church in Balmoral yesterday – but Prince Andrew was conspicuously absent 

Nearly a year later, in June 2000, Epstein and Miss Maxwell attended a party at Windsor Castle hosted by the Queen to mark Andrew’s 40th birthday, Princess Anne’s 50th, Princess Margaret’s 70th and Prince William’s 18th.

The woman who stayed at Balmoral spent almost a year in Epstein’s orbit, joining him on about a dozen trips. Epstein (above) gave her a place to live in New York, rent-free, and later paid for her to go to college

In 2001, Andrew met another member of Epstein’s entourage, Virginia Roberts, who claims she was on a trip to London with the financier when she met Andrew and had sex with him in a bath. 

Miss Roberts claims she slept with Andrew three times – in London and New York – when she was 17.

The claims, submitted to a court in 2014, were thrown out by a judge as ‘immaterial and impertinent’.

Andrew has vehemently denied any sexual encounters with her.

Buckingham Palace has said: ‘Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue. It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts.’

However, he remains haunted by a photograph taken with her on the London trip, with his arm around Miss Roberts’s bare midriff.

Yesterday, the woman who Andrew welcomed to Balmoral said the photo ‘sickened’ her.

Prince Charles, 70, and the Duchess of Cornwall, 72, travelled to the service in Crathie Kirk, Balmoral yesterday – which Prince Andrew did not attend

She spent almost a year in Epstein’s orbit, joining him on about a dozen trips. He gave her a place to live in New York, rent-free, and later paid for her to go to college. 

She initially met Epstein through her work as a model. The second time they met, on a trip to Palm Beach, he asked her to give her a massage. It quickly turned sexual.

‘We fooled around a bit. I never had intercourse with him,’ she said.

Epstein killed himself in jail this month after being accused of sexually abusing a string of underage girls.   

Andrew has been dogged by accusations of a lack of judgment about his links with Epstein.

The Duke quits his role as UK trade envoy after fallout from photos of him with the billionaire in Central Park.

A spokesman for Prince Andrew declined to comment on the Balmoral visit.

One of the young women on the trip told the Daily Mail how the prince personally welcomed the party to the castle (above) in mid-1999 – after the disgraced US financier had already begun recruiting dozens of underage girls as sex slaves