A new biography about Prince Andrew has been forced to make a big correction after it repeated a claim tying Melania Trump to Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew Lownie’s book, entitled The Rise and Fall of the House of York, hit shelves on August 14 with 60,000 copies already printed. In it, Lownie included an allegation that Epstein had introduced Donald Trump to his third wife, Melania. That claim echoes one made by Hunter Biden earlier this month during an interview with YouTuber Andrew Callaghan, where he repeated a suggestion made by biographer Michael Wolff.
But after pushback, the publisher HarperCollins UK confirmed those passages have now been deleted from future editions, including the e-book and audiobook. A spokesperson said the decision came after discussions with both the company and Lownie. While HarperCollins distributes the book in the UK, it is self-published in the US, according to the Telegraph.
The move followed a hard-hitting legal letter sent on August 6 by Melania Trump’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, to Hunter Biden. In it, Brito demanded Biden retract his statements and apologize, calling them “false, defamatory, disparaging and inflammatory.” The letter warned that if he failed to comply by August 7, Melania would file a $1 billion lawsuit for damages. Brito also stressed that the claims had already spread across social media, amplified by journalists and commentators to tens of millions of people.
Donald Trump himself publicly dismissed the rumor. “Jeffrey Epstein had nothing to do with Melania and introducing,” the president said. “It was another person actually… but it wasn’t Jeffrey Epstein.”
Biden, however, didn’t back down. Days later, on August 14, he returned to Callaghan’s show and declared, “F— that. That’s not gonna happen.” He again cited Wolff, who had been reported by the Daily Beast in July as linking Melania to Epstein. That article was quickly pulled after threats of legal action.
Others who repeated the claim have also walked it back. James Carville, a longtime Democratic strategist, apologized to the first lady after making similar comments on his podcast earlier this month and hearing immediately from her lawyers.
The controversy adds to pressure already on the Trump administration to release files related to Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Trump has admitted he was friends with Epstein years ago but said they had a falling out in the mid-2000s.
Flight logs released earlier this year showed Trump’s name seven times, though experts caution that being listed does not prove wrongdoing. Many well-known figures flew on Epstein’s private jet for business or social reasons that had nothing to do with his crimes.
In July, the FBI and the Justice Department issued a joint memo announcing they had finished their review of Epstein’s case. The memo said there was no secret “client list,” a rumor that has long fueled conspiracy theories.
With the book now amended and lawsuits threatened, the dust-up shows how explosive and costly any claim tying the first lady to Epstein can be—even when based on shaky sourcing.