An email apparently sent by Ghislaine Maxwell appears to corroborate the authenticity of a photograph showing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with his arm around his accuser, Virginia Giuffre.
The former prince, who has consistently denied wrongdoing, has previously cast doubt on the image, suggesting it may have been manipulated and maintaining that he never met Ms Giuffre.
However, in a 2015 message titled “draft statement” and sent by someone identified as “G Maxwell” to Jeffrey Epstein, the writer states: “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.”
The statement, disclosed by the US Department of Justice as part of the latest release of so-called Epstein files, also says the author was unaware of “anything improper” occurring at her home.
Although the individual referenced in the statement is redacted, contextual details strongly suggest the message was written by Maxwell and refers to Ms Giuffre.
Ms Giuffre, a key accuser of Epstein and Maxwell, has alleged that Mountbatten-Windsor had sex with her on three occasions when she was a teenager.
Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied these allegations but reached an out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre in 2022. The agreement included no admission of liability or apology.
According to the BBC, has contacted Mountbatten-Windsor’s representatives for comment.
The Maxwell email is not the first document to point to the existence of the photograph. A July 2011 email from Epstein, published last year by Democrats on the US House Oversight Committee, states: “Yes she [Giuffre] was on my plane and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew.”
In a 2019 interview with BBC Newsnight, Mountbatten-Windsor denied ever meeting Ms Giuffre and suggested that the photograph — or parts of it — may have been fabricated.
He said: “Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored, but I don’t recollect that photograph ever being taken.”
During the widely criticised interview, he also claimed he had been at a Pizza Express in Woking rather than at Maxwell’s home.
Mountbatten-Windsor continues to face scrutiny over his association with Epstein.
The latest tranche of Justice Department documents, released on Friday, includes images of Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over a woman lying on the floor, while other files make repeated reference to him.
One message also appears to show him inviting Epstein to Buckingham Palace.
A number of exchanges between Epstein, a convicted sex offender, and Mountbatten-Windsor came in the years after the US billionaire pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor.
Epstein died in a New York prison cell on 10 August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
The former prince moved out of his home in Windsor to the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk on Monday.
Buckingham Palace made the announcement he would leave his residency in October last year, at the same time he was stripped of his royal titles.
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