Ghislaine Maxwell used Andrew as ‘big card’ to capture ‘beautiful people’

Ghislaine Maxwell used Prince Andrew in order to socialise and net young women in her trafficking business with Jeffrey Epstein.

The Epstein supporter, who is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment over her heinous crimes, asked for forgiveness from her victims.

She said: “My association with Epstein will permanently stain me,” adding that she hoped her prison sentence would allow the victims “peace and finality”.

Meanwhile, gossip columnist Couri Hay, the socialite used Prince Andrew as her “big card”.

Mr Hay told the 2022 BBC documentary ‘House of Maxwell’: “She really was a connector. She had this invisible butterfly net, and she would go out in the social scene in London and New York and she would whisk her net and capture the beautiful people

“The rich, the famous, the powerful people. And she had this posh accent. She was well-educated.

“She was witty, she was fun! I mean everybody talks about how much fun she is, and she deliberately set out to make friends with important people.”

Mr Hay continued: “And she used her royal Rolodex to do that. Her big card was Prince Andrew.

“That was her main calling card. Everywhere she went, it’s Prince Andrew this, Prince Andrew that.

“They say in America that if you put out a lamb chop, everyone will come. Well, if you put out Prince Andrew, it’s a rare bird in New York City. You can see all kinds of wildlife here, but royalty is somewhat unusual. So they all came.

“There’s no question that Prince Andrew elevated Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. It just gave her this veneer: ‘Oh, she’s in the royal court. She’s a friend of the prince.

“It coated her with a veneer of respectability.”