Ghislaine Maxwell, the onetime paramour and madame of pedophile Jeffery Epstein, has been convicted on five counts of sex trafficking, specifically minors. This spells trouble for Prince Andrew, who has been avoiding an investigation into allegations that he had sexual relations with a minor provided to him by Epstein.  

The verdict came down on Wednesday, December 29, two years after Epstein committed suicide in prison, though under what some consider mysterious circumstances.

Maxwell and Epstein had become an inseparable duo over the years, but this relationship covered up a rather depraved bond. 

A woman born into British high society, Maxwell was the daughter of Czech-born newspaper tycoon and former lawmaker Robert Maxwell, who ironically also died under mysterious circumstances.

Robert Maxwell has been called a “monstrous father” who treated most of his children badly, but somewhat doted on Ghislaine, his youngest. He died on his boat, under what the coroner determined was a heart attack and later drowning, but it was later discovered that he had “committed massive pension fraud against his employees.”

After her father’s death, Ghislaine moved to New York and began running in high society circles and eventually connected with Epstein. According to reports, the couple met in the 1990s and had a sexual relationship that morphed into a business partnership.

As a couple, they move through high society, including having friendships with former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump and other high-profile men, but their polished façade was hiding something dark.

Epstein and Maxwell were trafficking young women.

After the arrest and death of Jeffery Epstein, Maxwell faced her own charges of assisting her friend, lover and business partner in attracting young teenage girls to become sexual slaves for Epstein.

As several women in court testified, Maxwell also played an active role in getting young teens into Epstein’s service and teaching them how to sexually pleasure their abuser and encouraging the young women to get their friends involved as well. Maxwell even participated in some of the abuse.

Now since she’s been convicted, all attention will turn to the other high-profile man in Epstein’s orbit, Prince Andrew.

The Duke of York, who is Her Majesty’s favorite son, met the disgraced and now deceased Epstein in 1999 through Maxwell, though there is some debate over whether the men met earlier than that.

Court records have revealed that the two were quite close, with Epstein even spending time at Sandringham and Balmoral, two private royal residences owned by the Queen. The two also went on a holiday together to Thailand, which Epstein paid for, and where at one point the men were surrounded by topless young women.

But Prince Andrew’s greatest sin in his relationship with Epstein is the possibility that one of the young women the businessman trafficked was given to the Duke of York for sex.

Virginia Roberts, who was famously pictured with Andrew and Maxwell, is suing the royal in New York over his alleged role in her abuse. 

There have also been calls for Andrew to participate in an FBI investigation, which he has refused. All of this has allowed a dark cloud to hang over Andrew and his close relationship with Epstein and Maxwell. 

The Duke of York tried to clear the air about the situation in a disastrous BBC interview, where the pompous and arrogant royal inexplicably shared that he didn’t sweat to try and refute part of Virginia’s testimony. Needless to say, he came across looking more guilty than he did than before the interview aired and has never returned to royal duties.

This heavy cloud of Prince Andrew, and also Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, continues to hang over the royal family into 2022. If Andrew is forced into testifying or loses the legal case, it raises serious questions about the roles of royals and how taxpayer and the Queen’s money would be used in his defense.

For all involved, it would be best if the Duke of York acquiesced and settled the matter in some sort of quiet legal action. But likely, Andrew wants to try and clear his name and will do everything he can, and spend tons of his mother’s money in the process, to do so.