Jeffrey Epstein appears to have confirmed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was photographed with Virginia Giuffre, according to a newly released email.
The message sent by Epstein – who is alleged to have taken the photo – reads: “Yes she [Giuffre] was on my plane and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew.”
Epstein’s account appears to contradict the former prince’s assertion that he never met Ms Giuffre and his longstanding suggestion that the image of him with his arm around her may have been doctored.
The July 2011 email was published on Wednesday alongside more than 20,000 pages of correspondence from the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier’s estate.
Ms Giuffre – a prominent accuser of Epstein – alleged Andrew had sex with her three times as a teenager.
Andrew, who has denied the allegations, reached an out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre in 2022. It contained no admission of liability or apology.
The email from Epstein to his publicist Peggy Siegal was sent shortly after Ms Giuffre was identified publicly in the Mail on Sunday.
The newspaper also printed the photo of her with Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.
Epstein’s message contradicts claims made by Andrew in a 2019 Newsnight interview, in which he denied meeting Ms Giuffre and suggested that the photograph – or elements of it – may have been faked.
Andrew said at the time: “Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored but I don’t recollect that photograph ever being taken.”
The documents – published by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee – also suggest that Andrew and Epstein remained in contact four months after the prince claimed their relationship had ended.
On 4 March 2011, Maxwell appears to have forwarded a right-of-reply email from the Mail on Sunday to Epstein.
It outlines a series of allegations, including that Andrew had sex with a young woman introduced to him at Maxwell’s London home in 2001.
The message appears to have then been forwarded by Epstein to Andrew, via redacted email address marked “The Duke”.
Andrew’s reply reads: “Please make sure that every statement or legal letter states clearly that I am NOT involved and that I knew and know NOTHING about any of these allegations. I can’t take any more of this my end.”
The Mail on Sunday went on to publish its story alongside the photograph.
It included allegations that girls were directed to sit on Andrew’s knee at Epstein’s New York home, that he groped them and took part in sexual encounters on Epstein’s private island.
The documents also reveal attempts by Epstein to discredit Ms Giuffre’s testimony.
In the July 2011 email to his publicist, Epstein also wrote: “The girl who accused Prince Andrew can also easily be proven to be a liar. I think Buckingham Palace would love it.
“You should task someone to investigate the girl Virginia Roberts, that has caused the Queen’s son all this agro [sic].”
The latest release comes after Andrew was requested by Democrats in the US Congress to answer questions as part of its investigation into Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking offences.
A Democrat on the House Oversight Committee – Congressman Suhas Subramanyam – told BBC Newsnight that Andrew had not yet responded to the Committee’s invitation to testify before the committee.
He said the former prince “doesn’t have to get on a plane to testify, he can do it remotely”.
Andrew was stripped of all his titles earlier this month after Ms Giuffre’s posthumous memoir renewed interest in his ties to Epstein and Maxwell.
