Ghislaine Maxwell had free access to Buckingham Palace, and a former royal police officer claimed that he and his colleagues believed she and Prince Andrew had an intimate connection that went beyond friendship, as per The Sun Online.

According to Paul Page, who worked as an armed protection officer for the royal family between 1998 and 2004, Maxwell was able to enter and depart the Palace night and day at whim. "My coworkers and I came to the conclusion that they were in a relationship."

Prince Andrew Knew Ghislaine Maxwell For More Than Two Decades

Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison earlier this week for trafficking minor girls for Epstein, becoming his first and only collaborator to be arrested and jailed for enabling his underage sex ring.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre was one of those young ladies who claimed Prine Andrew raped her three times when she was underage. Prince Andrew strongly disputes this although he and the queen resolved a civil action with Giuffre out of court, which is reported to have cost them $14.5 million, according to Daily Beast.

The two are claimed to have known one another when Maxwell was at university in the United Kingdom, and she later introduced the Duke to Epstein. Page, who served as an armed protection officer at the Palace, claimed Maxwell was one of the Duke's most regular guests in the early 2000s.

He also saw the couple have an intimate picnic on the Palace grounds, just outside the Queen's bedroom window, Page claimed. He and colleagues were advised not to write Maxwell's name in the visiting registers, a highly rare action.

This might be because the socialite is the daughter of disgraced former newspaper owner and politician Robert Maxwell. According to the former royal officer, Maxwell would be welcomed and directed to the Duke's chambers upon arrival.

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Ghislaine Maxwell Visited Royal Palace Several Times

Epstein accompanied her to other royal palaces, including Windsor Castle, the Sandringham estate, and Balmoral. The two were photographed together at the Queen's residence at Balmoral, and the photo was used during her trial. Both Maxwell and Epstein are accused of bringing 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre to London and forcing her to have sex with the Duke. The Duke is said to have known Maxwell for roughly two decades before meeting Epstein.

During an interview with Newsnight's Emily Maitlis, he described meeting Epstein through the pedophile's girlfriend and stated that he frequently attended occasions as Maxwell's plus one. The three were first seen together in February 2000, at a tennis event at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. Maxwell and the Duke were allegedly seen together at least eight times at London's nightclubs that year.

They were also said to have held hands at a lovey-dovey lunch in New York in April of that year by the New York Post. Maxwell and Epstein attended the Dance of the Decades in June 2000, a celebration for Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, Princess Margaret, and The Queen Mother's 40th, 50th, 70th, and 100th birthdays.

Maxwell was also photographed sitting on a throne in the Palace in 2002 after the Duke invited him. The nature of Maxwell's friendship with the Duke was never revealed, Daily Mail reported.

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