PRINCE Andrew was all smiles on his horse this morning – just hours after pal Ghislaine Maxwell was jailed.
The Duke of York was pictured riding around the grounds of Windsor Estate first thing, following news of Maxwell’s prison time overnight.
The disgraced socialite was jailed for 20 years on Tuesday after grooming dozens of girls for twisted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In what was described as the “trial of the century”, the jury heard how Maxwell snared and “served up” girls as young as 14 for Epstein – and even joined in the abuse herself.
The prosecutor said Maxwell was a “sophisticated predator who knew exactly what she was doing” who “ran the same playbook again and again and again”.
She was convicted of five out of six counts of sex trafficking by a jury in December.
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Yesterday, Maxwell – dressed in a blue prison uniform, a white mask and with her ankles shackled – looked straight ahead and showed no emotion as she was hit with a 20-year jail term, followed by five years of supervised release.
Maxwell and Andrew, 62, had a long-standing friendship – but it soon became the biggest royal scandal in decades when the duke was accused of having sex with 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre.
Prince Andrew, who smiled on his morning ride today, vehemently denies the accusation.
It is alleged his old friend Ghislaine trafficked the teen – who was a sex slave for paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – to him at her townhouse in London after a night out at Tramp.
And the infamous photo of Andrew with his hand around Virginia’s waist as Ghislaine beams in the background shone a new light of scrutiny on their long friendship.
It was previously reported that Andrew – often dubbed The Queen’s “favourite” son – was “dreading” the fact his name may be mentioned during Maxwell’s case last year.
Maxwell and Andrew are believed to have known each other for the better part of two decades before she is alleged to have introduced him to Epstein.
She and the American financier are believed to have been dating at the time – and the Duke is believed to have subsequently struck up a friendship with Epstein.
It was a relationship that allegedly saw him make multiple visits to Epstein’s homes and his private island, Little Saint James.
And during this pally period, Epstein and Ghislaine are said to have introduced the royal to the then 17-year-old Virginia Roberts.
She claims she was trafficked to have sex with Andrew.
The Duke settled a lawsuit with Virgina for an undisclosed sum – estimated at £12million earlier this year – but always insisted his innocence.
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He was stripped of his royal titles and patronages in disgrace and has been keeping a low profile ever since.
Andrew missed the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier this month due to Covid and was later kept out of sight during the Garter Day service.
