Jeffrey Epstein ‘wanted to blackmail the Queen in exchange for his silence on Prince Andrew allegations’

"People always ask how Epstein made his money. He was supposed to be this tax wizard. But it was all a con.

"He blackmailed rich men and then made them pay to avoid scandal. He made hundreds of millions of dollars this way.

"Epstein tried to lure Andrew into his web, but I believe his ultimate mark was the Queen."

Bryan claims that the stunning plot to blackmail the Queen backs up his belief that the allegations surrounding Andrew are unfounded.

Mr Bryan said: "I believe Andrew is innocent. If he genuinely was involved in 'orgies' as has been alleged, then Epstein would have used that to try and bribe the Queen into paying out millions to protect her family.

"Andrew has never had any money. The Queen was the one with money.

"I truly believe Epstein was going after her but Andrew never gave him the ammunition to do so."

During his tell-all interview, Bryan claimed he was drafted back into the royal frame to advise Andrew.

He revealed how he was smuggled into the Royal Lodge at Windsor to help Andrew after the Newsnight interview - which came in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and amid claims Andrew had sex with Virginia Giuffre.

Andrew vehemently denied the allegations but was still stripped of his patronages and beloved military affiliations.

She reached out to me because that's what I do. I reconstruct failed businesses, I reconstruct people, I rebuild families.

John Bryan

Ten days after the infamous interview, Mr Bryan received a call from Fergie asking him to the come to the royal residence.

He said: "Andrew's television interview had been a catastrophe so they needed an honest strategic plan that everyone could buy into.

"She invited me to come over. She was desperate. She told me that Andrew was in terrible shape.

"He was distraught. They were distraught."

The financial advisor said he was driven into Windsor in a blacked-out Range Rover before entering via a "secret entrance".

He claimed he helped the desperate family come up with a "long-term strategy" they branded "House of Kroy" - York spelt backwards.

'YOU'VE HURT OUR FAMILY'

Mr Bryan returned to the home the next day where he was met by Andrew, Princess Beatrice, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank.

He said the Duke was "downcast" and shouting: "I don't care any more, I don't care. I am being treated unfairly."

The advisor also claims Princess Beatrice told her dad "you've hurt our family" during the tense meeting.

He said that the fallout from Andrew's disastrous interview left the Duke in a state Mr Bryan had never seen before.

"In the four years I dated Sarah I never once heard him raise his voice or lose his temper," he said.

"It showed what strain he was under, how much he cared about the damage this was doing to the Royal Family."

Mr Bryan said he believes the Duke is telling the truth and explained he only ever saw Andrew with women in their mid-20s while he was dating Fergie.

He said: "I truly believe if there was anything untoward going on I would have known about it, Sarah would have known about it.

"But there was never a hint of that. I remain and will always remain an outsider, so let me be the first outsider to say that I believe Prince Andrew – and I don't say it lightly.

"This outsider has a lot of inside knowledge."