When it comes to the Epstein papers, the devil is in the detail. Sometimes literally. And so, among the hundreds of thousands of emails tossed into the public domain comes a revelatory exchange between Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and a Dubai-based investment banker called Terence Allen. This dates back to 2010, when the then-prince was a trade envoy for the British government, and suggests that he was passing on to Allen market-sensitive intelligence about the break-up of the Royal Bank of Scotland. This is shocking enough, but what I also found jaw-dropping was contained in a friendly to and fro between the two about Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife with whom he was sharing a home.

The former duchess of York had run up debts of £6m and the then-duke was seeking financial assistance for her. Allen wrote: “With S I want to help — sincerely. I am barely acquainted with either of you, so a little lost at what to suggest. Financially I can help. But it seems more meaningful if we find a worthwhile business role within her capabilities. Will you allow me to find something?”

Finding something for Ferguson “within her capabilities” might have been a stretch even for a resourceful businessman like Allen, but, if one pauses on the details, the shocker is this: Six million smackers! That’s how much Ferguson was in hock. How is it even possible to........

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