Prince Andrew gave Ghislaine Maxwell 'unrestricted access' to Buckingham Palace

Prince Andrew's relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell is coming under intense scrutiny after the socialite was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking underage girls for billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The Duke of York and Maxwell allegedly shared close bond. Their intimate relationship was unearthed by ex Palace aide Paul Page, who reportedly worked as a royal protection officer for six years from 1998 to 2004.

The officer claimed Maxwell had "unrestricted access" to Buckingham Palace with police told to wave her in when she arrived to visit Andrew's apartments.

"Myself and my other colleagues formed the opinion they were in some sort of relationship. We would wave her in and she would go straight to the quad and straight up to the Duke of York's apartments.'

Paul added: "She had access like no other individual outside the Royal Family. She was on another level."

He said he made his mind up about their relationship after spotting them having an "intimate picnic" in the grounds of the Palace, right outside the Queen's bedroom window" 

At the hearing last Tuesday, Maxwell's accusers read victim impact statements to the court, describing her as a "manipulative, cruel and merciless person".