Former royal protection officer alleges lax security allowed Prince Andrew to receive unrecorded female visitors

A former royal protection officer who served at Buckingham Palace for six years has told the FBI that security protocols were eased between 1997 and 2004 to allow Prince Andrew to receive multiple female visitors without their names being entered in the palace log books. The officer, Paul Page, said he observed that the usual visitor-security procedures were not applied to guests associated with the former Duke of York.

Page reported that Ghislaine Maxwell, later convicted of child-sex-trafficking offenses, was among the women who entered the residence under these relaxed rules. He said his observations were documented in a statement to the FBI and that he was fulfilling his duty as a potential witness.

According to a report in The Times, Page contacted U.S. authorities after receiving no response from Thames Valley Police when he sought to share his concerns with them. He told The Telegraph that he had “first-hand information” about the handling of female visitors to Prince Andrew.

Prince Andrew was arrested at his Wood Farm cottage in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his former role as a special trade envoy. He was held for 11 hours before being released. In May, Thames Valley Police confirmed an investigation into possible sexual offences, seeking to interview a woman who alleges she was taken to the prince’s Windsor home for sexual purposes.