Police Scotland has confirmed it is conducting "active inquiries" into visits by Prince Andrew, the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, and convicted sex trafficker Ghislane Maxwell to Balmoral Castle.

The investigation reportedly stems from allegations that women were trafficked to the royal residence in Aberdeenshire, according to The Daily Express.

Epstein, who died in 2019, and Maxwell, jailed in 2022 for sex trafficking offenses, are understood to have visited the Scottish castle with Prince Andrew. The Duke of York has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland stated that the inquiries are in their "very early stages" and that it would be inappropriate to comment further. The force emphasized that all investigations are "evidence led, with the needs of victim survivors at the heart of those inquiries."

Flight logs cited by the Express suggest that Prince Andrew and Maxwell traveled from Luton to Edinburgh on Epstein's private jet on September 1, 2006, accompanied by two other passengers. An image released by U.S. prosecutors during Maxwell's trial reportedly shows Epstein and Maxwell at Balmoral, believed to have been taken in 1999 when Prince Andrew is said to have invited them to stay.

Epstein and Maxwell were reportedly frequent guests at royal residences during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Royal family traditionally spends summers at Balmoral, the Scottish estate where Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022.

Further complicating the matter, a 2001 email from an individual identified only as 'A' to Maxwell was revealed among the "Epstein Files" released by the U.S. Department of Justice. The email, sent while the sender was at "Balmoral Summer Camp for the Royal Family," asks Maxwell if she has found "new inappropriate friends."

Police Scotland previously stated in February that it wished to speak with anyone who had information regarding Epstein's private jet using Edinburgh Airport, though at that time, no reports or complaints related to such trips had been received.