Sunday Mail (Queensland, Australia)
April 23, 2000, Sunday
WHEN it comes to romance, Prince Andrew has always worn his heart on his sleeve.
Although still devoted to his ex-wife, he appears suddenly to have turned back the clock to his bachelor days–when as a Navy officer he seemed to have a girl in every port.
Since his 40th birthday in February, he has been linked to a series of stunning companions.
None, surely, is more intriguing than Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of the disgraced newspaper tycoon, with whom, it was claimed yesterday, Andrew held hands over lunch in a fashionable New York restaurant. At Buckingham Palace, where they have long turned a blind eye to the prince’s interest in the opposite sex, there was the first hint of discomfort that his gaze may have fallen on someone with such a troubling family history.
Just to make things more complicated, Andrew arrived in the Bahamas to spend the Easter holiday with Sarah and their daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie. But back in New York, his date with Ghislaine at Nello’s, a noted celebrity haunt — and their behaviour — has set tongues wagging.
According to diners, the couple held hands as they toyed with lobster salad and champagne cocktails. They left separately to play cat and mouse with photographers. Ghislaine has lived with Manhattan property developer Jeffrey Epstein for the past five years.
What makes their conduct so fascinating is that in London, according to Andrew’s circle, he has been seeing Ghislaine’s friend, Australian-born public relations executive Emma Gibbs. His relationship with Ghislaine, they maintain, is strictly platonic. “They are just good friends,” said one. “And don’t forget it was Fergie who introduced Andrew to Ghislaine in the first place.”
In other parts of the royal circle, Prince Charles is to lose one of his longest-serving aides in a shake-up at St James’s Palace. Kiloran McGrigor, who has worked for the Prince for 16 years, is leaving her post as Duchy of Cornwall information officer. Her resignation comes only months after her partner, Chief Superintendent Colin Trimming, stood down as Charles’ chief bodyguard.
