Prince Andrew's Four Decades of Royal Scandals: A Complete Timeline of His Fall From Grace

Prince Andrew's descent into disgrace began decades before the Epstein controversy erupted.

Britain's Prince Andrew was stripped of his remaining royal titles after revelations about his connection to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein became the final straw for King Charles III, his brother.

For more than four decades, Andrew's behavior has tested royal family patience, generating embarrassing media coverage, legal battles, and suspicions that the prince, now 65, was exploiting his position for personal advantage.

Below are key incidents that damaged the reputation of Queen Elizabeth II's second son and ultimately led his older brother to remove him from public duties.

1984 — During a tour of a Los Angeles construction project in Watts, Andrew sprayed paint on reporters and photographers, remarking afterward, "I enjoyed that," while cleaning his hands with newspaper.

2007 — Andrew sold his Sunninghill Park residence near Windsor Castle, reportedly at 20% above the £15 million asking price. Media identified the buyer as Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of Kazakhstan's then-president Nursultan Nazarbayev, raising concerns about potential influence-buying in Britain.

2010 — An undercover reporter, posing as a wealthy Arab, recorded Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson apparently offering access to the prince for £500,000 ($670,000 at current exchange rates).

2011 — Andrew resigned as Britain's special trade envoy following initial reports of his Epstein connections. Questions were also emerging about his friendships with Said Gadhafi, son of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, and with a convicted Libyan arms smuggler.

July 2019 — Epstein's second arrest on sex trafficking charges, followed by his suicide in a New York jail, intensified scrutiny of allegations that Andrew had sexual encounters with at least one underage teenager trafficked by Epstein. Andrew denied these allegations.

November 16, 2019 — Attempting to address mounting criticism, Andrew participated in an on-camera interview with BBC reporter Emily Maitlis. The interview backfired when Andrew defended his relationship with Epstein, showed little empathy for victims, and provided explanations many found implausible. Andrew claimed he terminated contact with Epstein in December 2010, a statement that would later prove problematic.

November 20, 2020 — Buckingham Palace announced Andrew's suspension from all royal duties "for the foreseeable future." Four days later, he was removed as patron of 230 charitable organizations.

2022 — Andrew reached a settlement in a New York civil lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17. Though not admitting to Giuffre's allegations, Andrew acknowledged her suffering as a victim of sexual abuse. Legal experts estimated the undisclosed settlement at approximately $10 million.

2024 — Court documents revealed Andrew's connections to a suspected Chinese spy. The businessman was barred from the UK as a national security threat, with officials concerned about his potential influence over the prince.

April 25, 2025 — Virginia Giuffre died by suicide in Australia, where she had resided since around 2002.

October 12, 2025 — British newspapers disclosed an email Andrew sent to Epstein on February 28, 2011, more than two months after he claimed to have severed all contact. Responding to ongoing media coverage of the Epstein scandal, Andrew wrote they were "in this together" and would "have to rise above it."