A high-ranking member of the British monarchs inner circle has been drawn into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal
According to the newly released files, King Charles’s aide is believed to have overseen royal protection at Jeffrey Epstein’s home.
The latest files suggest that Peter Loughborough, the current Lord Steward of the monarch, oversaw the unit that allowed elite British protection officers to reside at the pedophile financier’s Manhattan townhouse
The latest revelations must surely cast a dark shadow on the career of Loughborough, who was reportedly described as the late Queen Elizabeth’s ‘favorite policeman’. It should also trigger fresh scrutiny over the monarchy.
GB News reports: Mr Loughborough, then commanding Scotland Yard’s royalty and diplomatic protection unit, allegedly supervised the decision permitting the elite officers to accept Epstein’s hospitality while guarding the then-Prince Andrew during a 2010 US trip.
The financier had already served an 18-month prison sentence after being convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008.
Recently released US Department of Justice files disclose that the officers seemingly stayed at Epstein’s seven-storey Manhattan townhouse, with correspondence showing the late paedophile personally offered to house the policemen.
One of the Metropolitan Police officers was provided with a temporary security code granting both guards unrestricted access to the £43million property on 71st Street.
Email exchanges appear to show that three days before Andrew’s arrival, Epstein enquired whether accommodation was needed for security personnel. The then-prince confirmed he had two officers requiring rooms in New York.
Andrew’s former private secretary, Amanda Thirsk, separately contacted Epstein’s executive assistant Lesley Groff to confirm space for both protection officers at the residence.
Emails allege, Officer Julian Phillips reached the mansion on November 28, a day ahead of Andrew and his second PPO, who landed on November 29. The party remained until December 6 or 7, the emails appear to show.
The townhouse, featuring a massage room decorated with paintings of naked women and containing lubricant bottles, was regularly visited by young girls and is believed to have been the location of numerous sex crimes.
Mr Loughborough, a hereditary peer and 7th Earl of Rosslyn, was reportedly Queen Elizabeth’s “favourite policeman” before departing the Met in 2014 to become master of the household to Charles, then Prince of Wales.
He was elevated to lord steward and personal secretary to the King and Queen in 2023.