Emails reveal more details of Epstein's celeb dinner for Andrew

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's last known face-to-face meeting with Jeffrey Epstein was in New York in December 2010.

According to Andrew's account in his BBC Newsnight interview, he went there to say a final farewell and to cease all connections with Epstein.

But emails released by the US Department for Justice provide more details of how, instead of a sombre goodbye, Andrew was the star guest at a lively gathering of celebrities at Epstein's multi-million Manhattan townhouse.

And instead of irrevocably cutting off ties to the sex offender, Andrew was in touch later that month to give seasons greetings to his "US family" and saying: "Looking forward to joining you all again soon."

That was at a time after Epstein had served a sentence for procuring a child for prostitution.

The latest cache of emails cast fresh light on the dinner party in 2010 thrown for Andrew, with a gathering of the rich and famous, in another example of Epstein's networking.

US entertainment publicist Peggy Siegal emailed Epstein the following morning to say the evening was "sensational".

Among the topics of conversation, according to the emails, was the forthcoming wedding of Prince William and Catherine, who married the following April.

"My favourite line: "So Andrew tell us about the wedding. What are you wearing?" He was not sure if I was kidding or not," says Siegal.

Andrew, who later described it as a "small dinner party, there were only eight or 10 of us I think", was said to have fended off requests for wedding invitations to Westminster Abbey.

Among the guests, according to the emails, were Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi, TV presenters Katie Couric and George Stephanopoulos, comedian Chelsea Handler and talk show host Charlie Rose.

Within days of the dinner party, details about the guests and their conversations had appeared in the US press - and the latest emails show an article being shared between Epstein and Siegal, with Epstein not happy with what seemed to have been a briefing to a journalist.

"Not good for andrew, not good for me," Epstein emailed about the apparent insider details being leaked.

The article claimed that Couric had told Andrew she would be broadcasting from outside the wedding and asked: "If I e-mail your BlackBerry, will you give me the details on what is happening inside?"

Andrew is quoted as saying that the Royal Family were delighted with the approaching marriage and that "Kate is a terrific girl."

Woody Allen has played down his attendance at the event for Andrew.

"Someone, a publicist, invited Soon-Yi and me to a dinner at Jeffrey's house with one of those British royals. I can't remember the name because I don't follow the royals with any interest at all," he told the Sunday Times last autumn.

But other emails in the released files show multiple exchanges between Allen and Epstein, including Allen talking to him about film makers.

"If you don't like Bergman, which I know you don't, that's fine. I'm sure he's way too sophisticated for your taste. Should I now get you the box set on Bergman's movies?" messages Allen to Epstein.

In another exchange Allen seems to be extolling the virtues of a new iPhone. "I absolutely love this phone. Thank you, thank you, thank you," he says to Epstein.

The latest emails also show Allen's comments to Epstein about another dinner in December 2017.

"Thank you for dinner last night. Just so you know, in the future, food should always be served very hot; never lukewarm.;)" wrote Allen.

There is no suggestion that appearing in the documents implies any wrongdoing

Chelsea Handler has said that the dinner party was the only time she met Epstein and remembers Andrew being there and has joked about her own nervous comment to Woody Allen.

"Yeah, we had dinner and it was so awkward and so weird... I was like what are we doing here? And then I asked Woody Allen how he and Soon Yi met and that was when I left," she recalled in a podcast in 2021.

Soon Yi was the adopted daughter of Allen's former partner Mia Farrow.

The Manhattan dinner was the same week that Epstein and Andrew were photographed together in Central Park.

In Andrew's account of his relationship with Epstein, he had gone to New York to end their connection, because it was more "honourable" to finish things in person.

On Newsnight in 2019 he recounted what he'd said to Epstein in December 2010.

"Look, because of what has happened, I don't think it is appropriate that we should remain in contact," and by mutual agreement during that walk in the park we decided that we would part company and I left, I think it was the next day and to this day I never had any contact with him from that day forward," said Andrew in his TV interview.

The latest emails suggest a different outcome.

After he was back from the trip, an account that seems to be Andrew emailed Epstein: "It was great to spend time with my US family. Looking forward to joining you all again soon.

"I'll call you tomorrow... as I am moving the family up to Sandringham during the day."

There was an ongoing conversation about trying to sort out unpaid wages for Sarah Ferguson's staff, which was sufficiently annoying for "the Duke" to email Epstein: "God it's cold and dank here! Wish I was still a pet in your family."

Rather than the claimed irrevocable goodbye to Epstein, as the year ended Andrew sent an optimistic message: "Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and spectacular entry into 2011."

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