A veteran US broadcaster has lifted the lid on one of the most disturbing dinner parties of recent years — revealing what it was really like to attend Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan home alongside then Prince Andrew. Katie Couric, one of America’s best-known television presenters, has given a vivid and unsettling account of the night in her book, describing the atmosphere as straight out of Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. The dinner, held in December 2010, was billed at the time as Epstein’s return to high society following a prison sentence — but Couric’s recollections paint a deeply troubling picture of the setting, the guests and two moments that left her stunned.

Writing about the evening, Couric compared Epstein’s Upper East Side townhouse to the secretive mansion in Kubrick’s cult film, where elites gather for masked orgies. The property itself was said to be the largest private residence in Manhattan. Guests, she said, entered through a 15-foot-high oak front door set into a stone façade bearing the initials “JE”. Couric wrote in an extract published by the Daily Mail: “Eyes Wide Shut with a twist — creepy chandeliers and body-part art.”

According to a visitor who attended the house in 2003, the entrance hall was lined not with paintings but with “row upon row of individually framed eyeballs”, imported from England and originally created for injured soldiers.

Couric said the tone was unsettling from the moment she arrived. Women came forward to take coats, and her boyfriend immediately remarked on how young they appeared.

Among those present that night were reportedly Prince Andrew, broadcasters Charlie Rose and George Stephanopoulos, film director Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi, and comedian Chelsea Handler.

Couric recalled Epstein positioning himself prominently in the room. She wrote that Epstein “held court” before a fireplace as guests gathered, before they were served lasagna in shallow bowls.

Reflecting on the evening, Couric said: “I couldn’t imagine what Epstein and Andrew were up to, apart from trying to cultivate friends in the media.”

Epstein was charged with sex trafficking minors in July 2019 and took his own life the following month. In the aftermath of his arrest, several of those who attended the dinner publicly expressed regret.

Stephanopoulos told The New York Times: “I should have done more due diligence.” Handler also spoke openly about the experience, describing it as deeply uncomfortable. On her Literally! podcast, she said the dinner was “so awkward and so weird”.

She claimed: “When I got there I was like, ‘What is this gathering?’ Prince Andrew was there with — no, with no one, I guess he was there with Jeffrey Epstein.”

The guests were understood to have been invited at the last minute by publicist Peggy Siegel, who has since said she was unaware that Epstein’s Florida charges involved minors.

Speaking to Vanity Fair last year, Siegel said Epstein called her on the day of the dinner to explain he was hosting Prince Andrew.

She said: “I thought it was strange that someone who actually had a prince in his house as a house guest couldn’t figure out a few people to invite for dinner?”

Andrew later addressed the gathering in his 2019 Newsnight interview, insisting it was simply “a dinner” and that he had stayed with Epstein to end their friendship.  

Andrew has vehemently denied any allegations made against him in relation to Epstein.