Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, is facing increased scrutiny after the release of leaked emails that provide new insight into the embattled royal’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On Tuesday, Democratic members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee made public tens of thousands of additional pages of documents from the estate of the late disgraced financier. Emails included in the files referenced Andrew in connection with Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually abusing her on three separate occasions in 2001 when she was a teenager after she was trafficked by Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Andrew, who was recently stripped of his royal titles, has consistently denied Giuffre’s allegations and claimed he has no memory of meeting her. However, several emails included in the documents and obtained by the Telegraph and Sky News appeared to cast doubt on Andrew’s denials, including statements that he made during a 2019 interview on BBC’s “Newsnight.”
In one email that Epstein sent to a journalist, he seemed to contradict a suggestion made by Andrew during the interview that a now-infamous photo showing the former prince with an underage Giuffre was fake.
Leaked Epstein emails have undermined former Prince Andrew’s suggestion that the infamous photo allegedly of himself and his accuser Virginia Giuffre was fake. (U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals; Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
The image, which allegedly showed Andrew with his arm around Giuffre’s waist and Maxwell in the background, was first made public in February 2011 and became key to the controversy surrounding the royal.
In the newly released correspondence, which was sent in July 2011, Epstein appeared to confirm the image’s authenticity and claimed “many” of his employees also took photos with Andrew.
According to Sky News, Epstein wrote, “The girl has fled the country with an outstanding arrest warrant. The da (sic) after she accused others, said in writing that she has no credibility, she was never 15 years old working for me, her story made it seem like she first worked for trump at that age and was met by ghislaine maxwell.”
“Total horses—, the daily mail paid her money, they admitted it, with the statement that it took money to coax out the truth.”
“Yes she was on my plane, and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew, as many of my employees have.”
“I have never misled you, this girl is a total liar, they (sic) authorities should check her australian immigration form… I will ask if they will cooperate – Prince people.”
In an email, Epstein appeared to confirm that the photo was authentic. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images; Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images)
In a 2015 federal lawsuit that Giuffre filed against Maxwell, she claimed that she met and was recruited by the socialite in the summer of 2000 when she was 16 and working as a spa attendant at President Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
In her posthumous memoir “Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice,” Giuffre — who died by suicide at the age of 41 earlier this year — provided further details about meeting Maxwell and how events unfolded afterward.
After leaving Jeffrey Epstein’s circle, Giuffre moved to Australia in 2002 and married Robert Giuffre. After her marriage, she gave up her maiden name of Roberts and took her husband’s last name.
During his interview with BBC, which was widely considered disastrous for the former prince, he addressed the infamous image, saying. “I have absolutely no memory of that photograph ever being taken.”
“Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored but I don’t recollect that photograph ever being taken,” Andrew continued.
“From the investigations that we’ve done, you can’t prove whether or not that photograph is faked or not because it is a photograph of a photograph of a photograph,” he added.
Photo from 2001 that was included in court files shows Andrew with his arm around the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre. In the background is Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. (U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals)
Andrew also questioned his attire and the hand placement in the photo. He pointed out that he was wearing “travelling clothes,” which he said he wouldn’t have worn for the occasion. In addition, he queried whether the hand on the waist was his own and raised the possibility of photo editing.
In another 2011 email obtained by the Telegraph from the newly released files, Andrew appeared to express distress over the mounting public and media scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein and Giuffre’s allegations.
According to the outlet, a reporter from the Mail on Sunday emailed Epstein on March 4, 2011, to ask for comment on the relationship that he, Maxwell and Andrew had with Giuffre.
Per the outlet, Andrew appeared to reply directly to Maxwell after the email was forwarded to him, writing, “Hey there! What’s all this? I don’t know anything about this. You must SAY [sic] so please. This has NOTHING To do with me.”
“I can’t take any more of this.”
Giuffre filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against Andrew in 2021. (Steve Parsons/Getty Images)
According to the Telegraph, Epstein responded to Andrew in a separate email chain.
“Just got it two minutes ago. I’ve asked g [sic] lawyers to send a letter,” Epstein wrote.
“Not sure… it’s so salcisous [sic] and ridiculous, im [sic] not sure how to respond, the only person she didn’t have sex with was Elvis,” he added.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were both indicted on federal sex trafficking charges stemming from Epstein’s years of abuse of underage girls. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Per Sky News, Epstein sent an email to his publicist in July 2011 in which he wrote of Giuffre, “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)”
“I promise you she is a fraud. You and I will be able to go to ascot (sic) for the rest of our lives.”
Days after Andrew’s “Newsnight” interview aired in November 2019, Buckingham Palace announced that he would step back from public duties “for the foreseeable future.” He later lost his military titles and royal patronages, and corporate sponsors and charities cut ties with him and his initiatives.
Epstein died in prison in August 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
This March 28, 2017, file photo, provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry, shows Jeffrey Epstein. (AP, File)
In 2021, Giuffre filed a sexual abuse lawsuit in New York against Andrew. After a U.S. judge rejected Andrew’s bid to dismiss the case, the two sides reached an out-of-court settlement in February 2022.
Andrew did not admit liability but agreed to pay Giuffre an undisclosed sum and to make a donation to a charity supporting abuse victims.
In December 2021, Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to entice and transport minors for illegal sex acts. She was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in June 2022.
Giuffre died by suicide at the age of 41 in April. (Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Days before Giuffre’s memoir was published on Oct. 21, Andrew released a statement in which he announced that he had relinquished his royal title, the Duke of York.
On Oct. 30, King Charles initiated a formal process to remove his brother’s remaining titles.
King Charles initiated a formal process to strip Andrew of his remaining royal titles last month. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew,” a statement from Buckingham Palace read.
“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence,” it continued. “Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.”
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.
“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace previously told Fox News Digital they don’t answer for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as he’s not a working royal.
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