Quick Read
- A 2015 email from Ghislaine Maxwell to Jeffrey Epstein appears to confirm the authenticity of a photo of Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre.
- Prince Andrew had long denied meeting Giuffre and questioned the photo’s authenticity, citing a Pizza Express alibi.
- Virginia Giuffre, who died in 2025, consistently claimed sexual assault by Andrew and detailed the photo’s origin in her memoir.
- Giuffre’s family described the email’s release as a “vindicating moment.”
- Amid the revelations, Prince Andrew moved out of his Royal Lodge home, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for his testimony before the US Congress.
LONDON (Azat TV) – A newly revealed email from Ghislaine Maxwell to Jeffrey Epstein, released last week by the US Justice Department, appears to validate the authenticity of a long-disputed photograph showing Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with his arm around Virginia Giuffre, reigniting scrutiny on the former prince and the Royal Family.
The disgraced former prince, officially known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has consistently denied allegations of sexually assaulting Giuffre when she was a teenager and had previously questioned whether the now-infamous photo was doctored. However, the 2015 email, sent by Maxwell to Epstein, suggests the image is genuine, marking a significant development in the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s Email Confirmation
The email, dated January 2015 and sent from a “G Maxwell” to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was titled “draft statement.” It states: “It was in London when (redacted) met a number of friends of mine including Prince Andrew. A photograph was taken as I imagine she wanted to show it to friends and family.” Details within this statement and subsequent emails from Epstein on the same day indicate that the redacted name was Virginia Giuffre.
Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking and other related crimes, also appears in the photograph. In her email, Maxwell added that she did not see “anything improper that took place at my home.” In a separate communication to Epstein, Maxwell also indicated a need to distance herself from him in public statements and deny awareness of any “massage (with) andrew in my house.” This contradicts her previous public statements, including a 2023 interview from a Florida jail where she told British broadcaster TalkTV that she did not “believe it is real for a second, in fact, I’m sure it’s not.”
Prince Andrew’s Previous Denials and Contradictions
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied Giuffre’s accusations, which included claims of being forced to have sex with him on three occasions: in London, New York, and at Little St. James, Epstein’s private island. Giuffre asserted that Mountbatten-Windsor was aware she was underage when they were introduced in the US. In a 2019 interview with the BBC, Mountbatten-Windsor stated he had “no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever” and questioned the photograph’s authenticity, saying, “Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored.” He also famously claimed to have been at a Pizza Express in Woking on the day the photo was allegedly taken.
Further documents from the US Justice Department reveal an email exchange that directly contradicts Mountbatten-Windsor’s claims. A day after the photograph was published in the British press, Mountbatten-Windsor emailed Epstein, stating: “It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it… Otherwise keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!” This exchange directly contradicts his assertion to the BBC that he severed all ties with Epstein in 2010. Separately, a 2011 email from Epstein confirmed that Giuffre “was on my plane, and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew as many of my employees have.”
Giuffre’s Vindicated Claims and Royal Fallout
Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April 2025, had detailed the day the photo was taken in her posthumous memoir, “Nobody’s Girl.” She wrote that she first met Mountbatten-Windsor at Maxwell’s townhouse in London on March 10, 2001, when she was 17, and claimed she was forced to have sex with him hours later. Giuffre stated the photo was taken with her disposable Kodak FunSaver camera and developed days later. Her family told the BBC that the release of the email was a “vindicating moment.” Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, commented, “It shows that not only was she not lying this entire time … she was telling the truth. It’s a moment where we’re really proud of our sister. I think that it is a vindicating moment, but we also want to use this as a moment to remind people to believe survivors.”
The Epstein scandal has shadowed Mountbatten-Windsor for years, culminating in his being stripped of royal titles and ordered to vacate the Royal Lodge on the Crown’s Windsor Estate by his brother, King Charles III, last year. Amid the latest revelations, Mountbatten-Windsor moved out of his Windsor home to the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk this week. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on Mountbatten-Windsor to testify before the US Congress regarding his links to Epstein. Anti-monarchy activists from the Republic group have also protested, placing “Crime Scene” tape on Buckingham Palace railings and demanding full disclosure from the royals.
The newly released email from Ghislaine Maxwell, coupled with Epstein’s own corroborating statements from years prior, significantly undermines Prince Andrew’s long-standing denials regarding his relationship with Virginia Giuffre and the authenticity of the photograph, intensifying the already considerable pressure on the British Royal Family to address the implications of these ongoing revelations.