Anglophilia is fading in America

WHEN GHISLAINE MAXWELL arrived in New York in 1991 her life was in pieces. Her father’s corpse was found floating near a yacht that bore her name; her family business had imploded; the Maxwell name was mud. Yet within a few years she was back on top: living in style on the Upper East Side and sitting at the very heart of New York society.

Why was the newcomer such a hit? The dark pact that she formed with Jeffrey Epstein, a paedophile for whom she is accused of procuring minors, provided her with access to lots of money. Her wit and charm made her stand out. But being British also helped. Ms Maxwell was invariably described as an “Oxford-educated British socialite”. She dropped dinky British phrases into her conversation and traded on the smart British names in her address book, the most valuable of which was Prince Andrew’s.