Police Scotland authorities have announced the launch of preliminary inquiries focusing on the activities carried out at Balmoral Castle by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the financier Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell. According to reports from the British broadcaster BBC News, the investigations follow reports published by the Daily Express concerning the alleged trafficking of women to the royal residence in Aberdeenshire.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland stated that information had been received and that active inquiries are at an early stage. Law enforcement specified that every assessment is evidence-led, placing the needs of victims at the centre, and added that no further operational details will be provided. Representatives of Mountbatten-Windsor, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, have been approached for comment.

Epstein, who died in 2019 while in prison awaiting trial, and Maxwell, sentenced in 2022 to twenty years in prison for sex trafficking, had visited Balmoral at the invitation of Mountbatten-Windsor between the late 1990s and the early 2000s. Flight logs and US court records had previously documented the group's travels to Scotland.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney also commented on the matter, describing the issue as serious but strictly an operational matter for the police, while First Minister Andy Burnham reiterated the need to respect the independence of the investigations. Last February, Mountbatten-Windsor was detained and later released on suspicion of misconduct in public office.