Entertainment
Andrew faces fresh scrutiny after FBI note mentions hidden Epstein tapes
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been dealt another blow as his deep links to Jeffrey Epstein continue to unravel.
According to a new report published by The Sun on December 27, the former prince is referenced in claims involving alleged hidden recordings at one of Epstein’s properties.
The report states that the FBI received the tip in 2020 from an IP address traced to Norway. The message alleged that tapes were hidden inside a secret compartment at Epstein’s Bahamas home, though it remains unclear whether the recordings exist or what they might contain. There is also no confirmation that the FBI acted on the information.
The note, reportedly labelled “Federal Bureau of Investigation Official Record,” includes the claim: “Pedophilia organized by JE for Prince Andrew.
“For evidence: look for keys stored in the drawing room. There are tapes in a secret compartment of a drawer next to a Michelangelo picture of a flower vase at his house in the Bahamas.”
The Sun further reported that the informant alleged the crimes had been ongoing for 15 years. However, no evidence has emerged to substantiate the claims, and authorities have not confirmed their authenticity.
Andrew, 65, has consistently denied all wrongdoing linked to Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell. He has largely remained out of the public eye in recent months as more Epstein Files continue to be released, including previously disclosed emails reportedly exchanged with Epstein and Maxwell.
The former prince was stripped of his royal titles earlier this year by his brother King Charles III amid ongoing fallout from the scandal.
Larry David was seen in public again this week as he spent time with old friends Jerry Seinfeld and Julia Louis Dreyfus during a small Christmas gathering.
Jerry Seinfeld shared photos on Instagram showing the famous trio smiling together.
It was Larry David’s first public appearance since the tragic deaths of their close friends Rob Reiner and his wife Michele earlier this month.
“The creatures were stirring… Christmas Eve 2025,” Seinfeld wrote alongside the pictures.
The reunion happened during a very emotional period for the group, when Rob Reiner and Michele were killed at their home in Los Angeles, a loss that deeply affected many in Hollywood.
Reports said that Larry David and Billy Crystal visited the Reiner home after the tragedy.
Jerry later spoke about how important Rob was to the success of Seinfeld.
He said, “Our show would have never happened without him,” and explained that Reiner believed in the series when others did not.
He also called the loss of Rob and Michele “impossibly sad.”
A group of close friends, including Larry David and Billy Crystal, released a statement praising Reiner’s talent, kindness and love for storytelling.
They said he made actors feel valued and helped writers become better.
Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis enjoyed a lovely pre-Christmas day out in Norfolk with their mum, Princess Kate, it has been revealed.
On Tuesday, December 23, the Princess of Wales took Charlotte, 10, and Louis, 7, to watch the Christmas Spectacular at Thursford. However, the eldest Wales child and future heir to the throne, 12-year-old Prince George, was apparently not in attendance, nor was his father, Prince William.
The trio’s attendance was confirmed in an Instagram post made last week by Lloyd Hollett, who appears in this year’s production.
Alongside a photo of the blue-lit stage, he wrote, “What a day… Today we were honoured by the presence of Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, alongside Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who attended our matinee performance.”
No official photos were released of the royals inside the venue as it was a private family outing instead of a public engagement. The future queen and her children reportedly watched the show from a royal box.
The Christmas Spectacular is a three-hour festive show featuring a mix of singing, dancing, and more. With a high production value and a cast of 130 performers, the show is one of the largest and most beloved Christmas events in Europe.
The event runs annually from November 8 to December 23, which means that Kate, Charlotte, and Louis managed to catch the final show.
By Washington Post book critic Ron Charles
2025 offered a feast of great books. To help build your never-ending reading list, here are five titles we particularly enjoyed over the past 12 months:
Simon & Schuster
Lucas Schaefer’s debut novel, “The Slip” (Simon & Schuster), won this year’s Kirkus Prize for Fiction. The story takes place in and around a boxing gym in Austin, Texas, where two lonely teenagers are eager to remake their identities wherever that might lead them.
This sweaty comic masterpiece tackles our most pressing social debates, and delivers a knockout.
Read an excerpt: “The Slip” by Lucas Schaefer
“The Slip” by Lucas Schaefer (Simon & Schuster), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Sourcebooks Landmark 
Susie Dent’s debut novel, “Guilty by Definition” (Sourcebooks Landmark), introduces a dictionary editor in Oxford who begins receiving strange messages about her sister’s long-ago disappearance.
As she follows these clues, she is led into literary puzzles and unresolved parts of her past. Readers who savor wordplay as much as suspense should look up this clever mystery.
Read an excerpt: “Guilty by Definition” by Susie Dent
“Guilty by Definition” by Susie Dent (Sourcebooks Landmark), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Riverhead Books 
“Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State” (Riverhead Books), by Caleb Gayle, traces the rise of Edward McCabe through Kansas and the Oklahoma Territory as Black migrants pursued land, safety and power in the Jim Crow era.
Confronting hostile politics and violent resistance, McCabe fought for community and self-determination, and Gayle lays out this charged landscape to reveal a crucial but long-obscured chapter in the struggle for freedom.
Read an excerpt: “Black Moses” by Caleb Gayle
“Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State” by Caleb Gayle (Riverhead Books), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
calebgayle.com (Official site)
Knopf 
Karen Russell’s “The Antidote” (Knopf) is a dazzlingly original novel that hovers between fable and history.
This wild tempest of a tale set in Depression-era Nebraska follows a prairie witch and a high school girl swept up into a tumultuous western epic about the tragedies and ambitions of Manifest Destiny.
Read an excerpt: “The Antidote” by Karen Russell
“The Antidote” by Karen Russell (Knopf), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Crown 
Rick Atkinson’s “The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780” (Crown), the second book in his planned trilogy, delivers a chronicle of the American Revolution with irresistible narrative drive.
Moving between battles and diplomacy, he brings Washington, Franklin and their rivals to life while tracing the nation’s fight for independence. The result is an immersive work of history just in time for America’s 250th anniversary.
Read an excerpt: “The Fate of the Day” by Rick Atkinson
“The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 (Volume Two of the Revolution Trilogy)” by Rick Atkinson (Crown), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Historian Rick Atkinson (Official site)
Rick Atkinson on how the U.S. Army was born – and a free nation realized (“Sunday Morning”)
That’s it for the Book Report. It’s been great fun to talk to you about good books over the past year. Here’s to many more in 2026.
I’m Ron Charles. Until next time, read on!
For more info:
For more reading recommendations, check out our library of previous Book Report features from Ron Charles:
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