Ghislaine Maxwell has appeared to confirm the authenticity of the infamous photo taken of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Virginia Giuffre.
The former Duke of York had previously said that the photo of him with his arm draped around the waist of the then 17-year-old Giuffre at Maxwell’s Mayfair home was doctored.
But in a revelation in the Epstein files that leaves his ‘Pizza Express in Woking alibi’ in tatters, Maxwell admits privately to her lover Epstein that the photo did take place.
Drafting a statement with Epstein to hit back at mounting allegations in the press, Maxwell wrote: ‘In 2001 I 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.
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‘I never asked (redacted) to give him a massage,’ her draft statement added.
She went on: ‘I am stating for the record as fact’ before adding: ‘Prince Andrew came to my house to visit me – (redacted) was in the house and they did meet.’
However, she claimed she had ‘no knowledge’ of Ms Giuffre ‘having sexual activity’ with Andrew or any other ‘famous people’.
Epstein replied saying her statement left ‘too many unanswered questions’ adding: ‘Her and andrew?…whats the deal here? why is she there.’
Maxwell insisted that she need the statement ‘asap’ and that she was advised to say ‘I was not aware of massage w/andrew in my house’.
‘These thing they have to stay, along w/meeting virginia and rebutting those allegations. I needs it asap.’
In the email headed ‘first draft privileged joint defense agreement’, Maxwell claims she was compelled to speak out due to the ‘salacious claims’ against her.
She says: ‘The allegations made against me by (redacted) are lies. I have consistently stated that they are untrue and I have waited for an opportunity to prove this in a court of law.’
In an attempt to discredit Giuffre’s version of her abuse, Maxwell claimed: ‘The salacious claims she makes are untrue and made purely for financial gain.’
‘The relentless media harassment to which I, Alan Dershowitz and Prince Andrew have been subjected to over the last week has become intolerable and breaches any justifiable sense of natural justice.’
The testimony contradicts a previous interview from prison in the US, where Maxwell said she is ‘sure’ the picture, said to be taken inside her Mayfair home, is not real.
In a 2023 interview with TalkTV, Maxwell said: ‘It’s a fake. I don’t believe it’s real for a second, in fact I’m sure it’s not.’
She added: ‘Well, there’s never been an original and further there’s no photograph, and I’ve only ever seen a photocopy of it.’
Andrew has also questioned the validity of the image of him with Ms Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts.
He went on to pay millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Ms Giuffre – a woman he initially claimed never to have met.
Andrew has previously said he has ‘no recollection’ of meeting Ms Giuffre and cast doubt on the picture, claiming he is ‘not one to hug’ or ‘display affection’ in public.
In an interview with BBC Newsnight in 2019, Andrew said while he recognises himself in the picture with Ms Giuffre, he claimed it is not possible to prove whether the image had been faked.
‘I was with the children, and I’d taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking for a party at, I suppose, sort of 4pm or 5pm in the afternoon,’ he said.
When asked why he would remember a meal at Pizza Express 18 years later, he said: ‘Because going to Pizza Express in Woking is an unusual thing for me to do, a very unusual thing for me to do…
‘I’ve only been to Woking a couple of times and I remember it weirdly distinctly,’ he claimed.
