Prince Andrew: Expert discusses Ghislaine Maxwell deposition
Ms Maxwell was arrested last July by the US authorities on charges relating to her ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein, and his alleged trafficking and sexual abuse of young women and girls. She has been denied bail twice and is now waiting for her July trial behind bars in New York. The FBI arrested her as part of its wider investigation into a potential international sex trafficking ring which may have been run by convicted sex offender Epstein.
The Royal Family has been dragged into the case, too, as Prince Andrew was a one-time associate of both Ms Maxwell and Epstein.
He denies any knowledge of Epstein’s alleged crimes and there is no implication he is guilty of any wrongdoing.
Ms Maxwell has pleaded not guilty in her trafficking case, and in recent months many friends have jumped to her defence in an attempt to support her latest bail request for Christmas — and even compared her to Andrew’s former sister-in-law, Diana, in the process.
Some said she was “a woman of principle”, a person to be “held on a pedestal” and an “inspiring” environmental campaigner.
A handful even indicated they would trust her to look after their young children, despite being accused of a series of child sex-trafficking crimes.
Princess Diana and Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein (Image: Getty)
Maxwell (L) and Diana (R) meeting at the 1984 premiere of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Image: Rex/Shutterstock)
Yet, the names and details of these 17 supporters have been redacted from court documents.
Defence lawyers explained: “They are legitimately afraid that if their identities become public, they will be subjected to the same relentless media scrutiny and threats that Ms Maxwell has experienced for more than a year.”
A former special forces soldier who provided security to the Maxwell family claimed the British socialite was facing unfair targeting by the media over her association with Epstein.
He alleged: “A good example is the case of Princess Diana, who unfortunately lost her life due to press intrusion into her personal space.”
However, Ms Maxwell had only occasionally been subjected to media scrutiny prior to Epstein’s arrest in 2019, and subsequent suicide in jail.
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Diana was at one time the most photographed woman in the world (Image: Getty)
The Princess of Wales was also a celebrated humanitarian (Image: Getty)
She then went into hiding for a year, which only boosted the worldwide speculation as to her whereabouts.
Diana, on the other hand, earned international stardom as a key player within the Royal Family and famous humanitarian.
Ms Maxwell’s bail application, estimated at £21million ($28.5million), was rejected last month, despite her lawyers’ claim that her jail conditions are “intolerable”.
Interestingly, Ms Maxwell and the Princess of Wales were only six months apart in age and the socialite did get the chance to meet the beloved royal — but they reportedly did not hit it off.
They are believed to have been introduced at the 1984 premiere of ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’.
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Maxwell used to date Jeffrey Epstein, and was his long-time associate (Image: Getty)
Maxwell’s friends have compared her struggles to the media battles Diana faced (Image: Getty)
Writing in the Evening Standard, journalist Anne McElvoy explained: “Ghislaine, while herself on a pedestal of privilege, was armed with a self-confidence so bullet-proof that she could joke about ‘making Diana (later Princess of Wales) cry’ in a world where ‘teasing’ about everything from the wrong boyfriend to the wrong designer could come uncomfortably close to bullying.”
It’s not clear if Ms McElvoy was referring to the film premiere here, but Ms Maxwell had access to an array of high-profile social events so may have bumped into Diana before she was a royal on a number of occasions.
Maria Farmer, who has accused Ms Maxwell and Epstein of sexually abusing her, claimed the socialite actually “hated” Diana.
She told : “‘Ghislaine’s like, ‘look, there we made her [Diana] cry, isn’t that funny? We hated Diana’.
“That’s what she said. I was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s horrible’.
Epstein’s royal timeline – both Maxwell and Epstein rubbed shoulders with members of the Royal Family on occasion (Image: Express)
“They were very mean to her, like abusive, but they thought it was really funny. Very, very sick.”
Ms Farmer’s sister Annie, also an alleged victim, reportedly dubbed Ms Maxwell a “psychopath” who would flee if she had been granted bail.
Now a psychologist, Ms Farmer claims that Ms Maxwell had been “abusing her position of power to live beyond the rules” for her entire life.
She added that she “lacks empathy” and “simply does not care about hurting others”.
