Infamous Podcast: Prince Andrew | Part 5

Date: October 9, 2025
Hosts: Vanessa Grigoriadis, Natalie Robehmed
Guest: Andrew Lowney (Royal Biographer, author of The Rise and Fall of the House of York)

Overview

The final installment of Infamous’s deep dive into Jeffrey Epstein’s network centers on Prince Andrew, his entanglements with Epstein, and the broader implications for the royal family and powerful elites. Hosts Vanessa Grigoriadis and Natalie Robehmed, along with royal biographer Andrew Lowney, explore newly surfaced evidence, ongoing cover-ups, and the persistent cultural impact of the scandal.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recent Epstein Fallout and The “Epstein Files”

Timestamps: 01:18–07:37

• U.S. Congress is actively seeking to release all FBI files related to Epstein. President Trump is reportedly blocking the process, fueling speculation that these files may implicate someone close to him.

  • Vanessa Grigoriadis: “President Trump has stopped that process probably because there's something in there that he doesn't want people to see.” (01:36)

• In political circles, there’s direct fallout: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer fired British ambassador Peter Mandelson due to his close friendship and correspondence with Epstein.

  • Natalie Robehmed: “Mandelson was in the birthday book, writing that Jeffrey was his best pal...suggesting that Epstein's 2008 conviction...was wrongful.” (02:22)

• Bloomberg obtained 18,000 Epstein emails, revealing elaborate PR strategies and Epstein’s manipulation of associates. A spreadsheet showed lavish gifts handed out to influential contacts, including luxury cars, watches, and gifts to those who reported sexual abuse.

  • Vanessa Grigoriadis: “She wants to give a $35,000 watch to an aide of Bill Clinton. A $71,000 Lexus car for Alan Dershowitz...lingerie and chocolates going to some of the women who had lodged different sexual abuse complaints.” (04:17)

• The emails also indicate a network of “recruiters”—often women—sending photos of young women to Epstein for approval, highlighting his predatory system.

  • Vanessa Grigoriadis: “He had a ton of people around him who were essentially pimping on his behalf.” (05:35)

2. Public Action by Survivors and the Prince Andrew “Client List”

Timestamps: 06:34–07:37

• Victims of Epstein in Washington, D.C., announced their intent to compile a list of Epstein’s known associates—a move fraught with legal risks but intended to pressure public accountability.
• Andrew remains the most visible casualty thus far of these new revelations.

3. Andrew & Epstein: Origins and the Royal Connection

Guest: Andrew Lowney
Timestamps: 07:37–12:37

• Conflicting stories exist about how Prince Andrew met Epstein, but the most plausible is that Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson (Fergie), helped connect him to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell via their New York social circles.

  • Andrew Lowney: “Fergie and Ghislaine were moving in social circles in New York in the 1990s, and it was Fergie who introduced Andrew to Epstein.” (07:45)

• Sarah Ferguson's financial motivations and her commercial ventures (ocean spray, Weight Watchers, Wedgwood) are portrayed as the prototype of modern royal monetization, a forerunner to Meghan Markle’s path, though notably more effective.

  • Andrew Lowney: “She basically was available to sell herself to the highest bidder...She just did it with a bit more charm and success.” (09:25)

• Both Andrew and Fergie leveraged their royal status for access to luxuries and global networks, using royal connections to sustain a lavish lifestyle.

  • Andrew Lowney: “They knew that they can make this money, that they're protected. No one is really going to provide any sort of scrutiny. So they've got away with it for 30 years, just basically shamelessly monetizing their position in the royal family.” (12:01)

4. The Royal Family, Power, Intelligence — and Compromise

Timestamps: 13:32–16:24

• Andrew’s role as a royal offered unique leverage in forging relationships with global intelligence and political circles.

  • Andrew Lowney: “If you're in the Royal family, you can invite anyone you want to lunch or dinner...He would have picked up information from people that could be useful elsewhere. Certainly there's a lot of Kompromat on him.” (14:04)

• Robert Maxwell (Ghislaine’s father) is depicted as an “information broker” linked to British, Russian, Mossad, and CIA circles, and is said to have set up and funded Epstein. Ghislaine’s denials are broadly dismissed.

  • Andrew Lowney: “You can't believe everything that Ghislaine Maxwell says. I mean, she's been proven liar at her trial.” (15:37)

5. Money, Motive, and the Ghislaine/Andrew/Epstein Triangle

Timestamps: 18:28–21:44

• Financial support and influence were reciprocal: Epstein received connections and legitimacy from Ghislaine and Andrew; in turn, he repaid them with money and sexual access.

  • Andrew Lowney: “She [Ghislaine] was a very effective procurer for him because she was well educated, well spoken, a female...Andrew admitted also that Epstein gave him good contacts.” (18:57)

• The relationships were “transactional and commoditized”—centered on sex, money, and mutual benefit.

  • Andrew Lowney: “Everything is transactional. Everything is a commodity...They all were able to network using each other's group of networks, and that made them much, much more effective.” (20:15)

6. Knowledge and Guilt: Did Andrew Know?

Timestamps: 20:50–27:32

• Lowney is unequivocal: Andrew must have known about underage girls at Epstein’s properties.

  • Andrew Lowney: “Anyone who went to the houses said it was pretty obvious...there was phallic soaps and pictures of naked girls around. No one could have any possible reason not to believe that this was a highly sexualized environment.” (21:14)

• Epstein's financial support of Fergie’s debts is greatly understated publicly; the real sums were far higher and deepened Andrew’s entanglement.

  • Andrew Lowney: “The figure I was given was more like 2 million. But, you know, he had Andrew really around his little finger and he could begin to call in favors.” (21:55)

• Andrew and Trump’s relationship involved “locker room” banter about women, suggesting their bond was built on shared sexual interests, not diplomacy.

  • Andrew Lowney: “When Trump and Andrew met, they had sort of locker room conversations, talking about women in pretty vulgar terms, swapping lists of masseurs.” (22:56)

• The infamous BBC Newsnight interview amplified Andrew’s image as a “self-involved buffoon” who failed to deny or credibly refute evidence linking him to Virginia Giuffre.

  • Andrew Lowney: “He said in the interview he'd never met her, he had no memory of her. And yet we have email correspondence...and evidence of PR firms to try and discredit Virginia Giuffre.” (24:20)

7. Fallout: Andrew’s Royal Status and Legal Exposure

Timestamps: 25:12–31:19

• The royal family distanced itself from Andrew publicly, but support from the Queen (e.g., escorting him to Prince Philip’s memorial, bestowing honors) sent a mixed message.

  • Andrew Lowney: “The Queen still stood by him...She made him a vice admiral. He didn't lose his dukedom.” (25:26)

• Andrew has employed every available legal maneuver to avoid cooperation with investigations and lawsuits, behavior inconsistent with innocence.

  • Andrew Lowney: “He actually tried to dodge the summons being sent to him by Virginia Giuffre...These aren't the marks of an innocent man.” (26:42)

• There may be more unexplored legal exposure for Andrew, particularly regarding his time as a trade envoy and his private enrichment.

  • Andrew Lowney: “He was meant to head various trade delegations...But he set up a separate company, Picture Palace Global, which was siphoning off money from these events to his own private bank account.” (29:03)

8. Legacy, Cover-up, & The Future

Timestamps: 31:19–40:41

• Lowney positions Andrew as an “aberration” in comparison to more dutiful royals, emphasizing that Andrew and Fergie damage the institution’s legitimacy.

  • Andrew Lowney: “He and his wife. You know, this is why I'm calling them out because they undermine the good work that all the others do.” (31:19)

• Within the royal family: Charles’s relationship with Andrew is “complex but protective”; William and Kate strongly disapprove and will likely enact tougher measures against Andrew if William becomes king.

  • Andrew Lowney: “William, I think, doesn't like Andrew...He's a snob, thinks [Kate]'s a bit middle class...If [William] becomes king very soon, I think Andrew is complete toast. He will lose, I suspect, his dukedom.” (34:10)

• Virginia Giuffre’s (Virginia Roberts) recent death further insulates Andrew from legal jeopardy but leaves questions unanswered; her testimony and statements are now the only lasting record.

  • Andrew Lowney: “Now, I wouldn't say he's got blood on his hands, but...part of [her trauma] is because of what she went through with Andrew.” (35:59)

• The scope of the cover-up extends to both U.S. and UK institutions; attempts to more thoroughly investigate Andrew, particularly during his trade envoy years, have been stonewalled.

  • Andrew Lowney: “People were told not to talk to me when I was investigating my book, including by the Foreign Office...there is an establishment cover up here to protect Andrew.” (39:05)

9. Broader Cultural Takeaways

Timestamps: 38:14–41:37

• In both the U.S. and U.K., the Epstein saga is seen as emblematic of how the ultra-wealthy exploit privilege for impunity; in America, it has become the “Manson story” of the 21st century, continually generating public outrage and fascination.

  • Vanessa Grigoriadis: “It's just continuing to go on and on. We're going to be living with it, I think, for at least 20 years.” (38:23)

• In the U.K., the story revolves around institutional accountability and “establishment cover-up,” with Andrew as the prime emblem of royal impunity.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Vanessa Grigoriadis, on the enduring nature of the story:
  “This is a continuing story and maybe...till the day we die.” (01:36)

• Andrew Lowney, on Andrew and Fergie’s motivations:
  “They're greedy and they wanted to live a sort of jet set life. The people that they mix with, the Elton Johns and the others, all have private jets and they like to live that life.” (12:01)

• Andrew Lowney, on Ghislaine Maxwell:
  “She became his sort of major domo. She did all the work for him, you know, his executive assistant. So it was a good system, and it was a good system to draw Andrew in because clearly Andrew gave him this respectability in contacts.” (18:57)

• Andrew Lowney, on the nature of Epstein’s social network:
  “Everything is transactional. Everything is a commodity.” (20:15)

• Andrew Lowney, on the “self-involved buffoonery” of Andrew’s media response:
  “I think it's pretty clear in my book that, you know, this is a genuine photo. That's a complete red herring. I mean, they're really clasping at straws.” (24:20)

• Andrew Lowney, on the stonewalling of investigations:
  “...Nothing happened because, of course, no one is going to investigate the second son of the Queen. But, you know, in my view is no one is above the law.” (29:03)

• Andrew Lowney, on the U.K.’s institutional protection of Andrew:
  “People were told not to talk to me when I was investigating my book, including by the Foreign Office. So...there is an establishment cover up here to protect Andrew.” (39:05)

Essential Timestamps

• 01:36 – Epstein Files blocked by Trump
• 02:22 – UK Ambassador Mandelson fired over Epstein ties
• 04:17 – Revelations in Bloomberg’s cache of emails
• 07:45 – How Andrew likely met Epstein through Sarah Ferguson
• 13:32 – Andrew’s intelligence/political network and parallels to Robert Maxwell
• 21:14 – Lowney asserts Andrew must have known about underage exploitation
• 25:26 – Mixed messages from the royal family following Andrew’s scandal
• 29:03 – Exploiting trade envoy position and corporate corruption
• 34:10 – Charles’s protection and William’s disdain
• 35:59 – Virginia Giuffre’s death and its implications
• 39:05 – State and institutional cover-ups
• 40:41 – The book recommendation and episode wrap

Conclusion

This episode exposes the depth of Prince Andrew’s involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, the cover-ups that protected him, and the cultural reckoning still unfolding around these powerful, insulated elites. Andrew Lowney provides critical context and insight, emphasizing not just individual guilt but systemic failure. The episode closes with a call to continued scrutiny, as the full truth—hidden in unreleased files and silenced witnesses—remains out of reach, fueling ongoing public fascination and outrage.