Scottish police investigate former Prince Andrew’s Balmoral trip with Epstein

Police in Scotland are conducting inquiries into the time former Prince Andrew spent at the king’s private estate at Balmoral with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, authorities said Friday. Police Scotland said the inquiries were at a “very early stage.’’ “All inquiries are evidence-led, with the needs of victim survivors at the heart of those inquiries,’’ police said in a statement. “We would never confirm details of ongoing inquiries and it would be inappropriate to comment further.” Images released earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Justice appeared to show the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, on a shooting trip at the estate with Epstein. Mountbatten Windsor was arrested and held for hours by British police in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his links to Epstein. It was the first time in nearly four centuries that a senior British royal had been arrested.