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By Rory Tingle and James Robinson for MailOnline
It has been more than two decades since Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein first crossed paths.
That meeting would set in motion years of damaging allegations, embarrassing interviews and eventually a US lawsuit against the Queen's third son.
Over the next 23 years, Epstein would go on to abuse and sex traffic young girls across the world on his private jet with his madame Ghislaine Maxwell - the woman who would introduce the financier to Prince Andrew - by his side.
Though he would go on to take his own life in prison while awaiting trial for his sex trafficking crimes, and ultimately robbing his victims of justice, the fallout would continue for those around him.
Maxwell would end up in a US prison, herself found guilty of sex trafficking for Epstein, while Prince Andrew would face accusations of sexual assault by one Epstein victim, Virginia Giuffre.
Determined to clear his name, Prince Andrew would agree to a toe-curling BBC in which he claimed he couldn't have had sex with Ms Giuffre, because he was at Pizza Express at the time.
But Giuffre would continue to pursue the royal, eventually launching a US civil case against him - which has now ended in a settlement.
Here MailOnline takes a look at the sordid saga, from start to finish:
1999: Andrew first meets Epstein, reportedly introduced through his friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell.
Andrew welcomes Epstein to the Queen's private Scottish retreat in Aberdeenshire. Andrew later says he sees Epstein 'infrequently', adding 'probably no more than only once or twice a year'.
2000: Andrew and Ms Maxwell are seen on holiday with Epstein at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Epstein and Ms Maxwell attend a party at Windsor Castle hosted by the Queen to mark Andrew's 40th birthday, the Princess Royal's 50th, the Queen Mother's 100th and Princess Margaret's 70th.
2001: Virginia Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew 'three times, including one orgy', with the first encounter allegedly taking place in Ms Maxwell's London townhouse after they met at the Tramp nightclub on March 10. Recalling the alleged meeting, Andrew was said to be 'sweating profusely'.
The Duke would later claim in his infamous BBC interview that this could have never happened because he was at a children's party at a branch of Pizza Express in Woking. In the same interview he says he has a medical condition after being shot at during the Falklands War that left him 'unable to sweat' because Ms Roberts, who was 17 at the time, claimed that they danced together and he had been 'sweating profusely'
Ms Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew on two more occasions, at Epstein's New York home and at an 'orgy' on his private island in the Caribbean.
2008: Epstein admits prostituting minors and is sentenced to 18 months in prison.
2010: Epstein is released from jail. Andrew is photographed with the disgraced Epstein in New York's Central Park.
Footage emerges years later, reportedly shot on December 6 2010, showing him inside Epstein's Manhattan mansion, from where he is seen looking out from a large door of the property waving a woman goodbye after Epstein leaves to get into a chauffeur-driven car.
2011: The duke quits his role as UK trade envoy after the fallout from the Central Park photos.
2015: Buckingham Palace denies Andrew has committed any impropriety after he is named in US court documents related to Epstein. A woman, later named in reports as Ms Roberts, alleges in papers filed in Florida that she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, which is under the age of consent in the state.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Andrew, in his first public engagement since he was embroiled in the allegations, responds, saying: 'Firstly I think I must, and want, for the record, to refer to the events that have taken place in the last few weeks. I just wish to reiterate, and to reaffirm, the statements that have already been made on my behalf by Buckingham Palace.'
In April the claims against Andrew are struck from US civil court records following a federal judge's ruling.
Newly released legal documents show that Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged Epstein victim, claims Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire's Manhattan apartment in 2001. Buckingham Palace denies the allegations
2019: Newly released legal documents show that Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged Epstein victim, claims Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire's Manhattan apartment in 2001.
Buckingham Palace says the allegations are 'categorically untrue'. Epstein is found dead in his jail cell on August 10, having killed himself after being charged with sex trafficking.
Later that month a pilot on Epstein's private jet claims Andrew was a passenger on past flights with the financier and Ms Roberts.
The Sun newspaper reported that David Rodgers said in a testimony released in August that Epstein, Andrew and the-then 17-year-old travelled to the US Virgin Islands on April 11 2001.
Buckingham Palace describes the evidence statement as having 'a number of inconsistencies' and said that Andrew was on a different continent in some cases.
Following Epstein's death, a statement from the palace says that Andrew is 'appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes'.
Breaking his silence on the issue for the first time since 2015, Andrew then releases a statement on August 24 saying: 'At no stage during the limited time I spent with him (Epstein) did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.'
On November 16, the prince gives a 'disastrous' BBC interview in which he speaks about his friendship with Epstein and addresses allegations of his own sexual conduct.
On November 16, the prince gives a 'disastrous' BBC interview in which he speaks about his friendship with Epstein and addresses allegations of his own sexual conduct
He faced a barrage of criticism following his television appearance, with the royal accused of a lack of empathy with Epstein's victims.
During the interview, Andrew, questioned by Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, twice stated his relationship with Epstein, who died in jail while facing sex trafficking charges, had some 'seriously beneficial outcomes', giving him the opportunity to meet people and prepare for a future role as a trade envoy.
The royal maintained he did not recall meeting Ms Roberts and did not spend time with her at Tramp Nightclub in London on March 10 in 2001 after which she claims the pair first had sex.
The duke denies sleeping with her on three separate occasions, saying the encounter in 2001 did not happen as he had taken his daughter Princess
