Newly released records from the United States Department of Justice include an email in which Ghislaine Maxwell appears to set out her account of the circumstances surrounding the long-disputed photograph showing Prince Andrew with his arm around Virginia Giuffre.
The message, dated 2015 and marked “draft statement”, was sent by Maxwell to Jeffrey Epstein as allegations against both of them intensified. While Giuffre’s name is redacted throughout the document, the surrounding details, including references to London in 2001, Prince Andrew, and the taking of a photograph, strongly indicate that Maxwell was referring to her.
According to reporting by BBC, Maxwell wrote that she was present in London when the woman met “a number of friends”, including Andrew, and that the photograph was taken during that encounter. She 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.”
Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse minors, went on to state that Andrew had visited her home and that the woman was there at the same time, writing:
“Prince Andrew came to my house to visit me – (redacted) was in the house and they did meet.”
In the same draft, Maxwell insisted that nothing improper occurred, adding that she had
no knowledge of the woman “having sexual activity” with Andrew or any other “famous people”, and framing her account as a factual record of events.
Family response and contradiction of earlier claims
Giuffre, who accused Andrew of sexually abusing her on three occasions in 2001 and 2002, allegations he has consistently denied, died by suicide in 2025. Her family said the newly released email supported her long-standing account.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, her brother Sky Roberts said the document showed that his sister had been telling the truth for years and that the family felt vindicated by its release.
Andrew has previously questioned the authenticity of the photograph. In a 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, he said: “I have absolutely no memory of that photograph ever being taken… you can’t prove whether or not that photograph is faked or not.”
In 2022, Andrew reached a reported out-of-court settlement of around £12 million with Giuffre to end her US civil sexual assault lawsuit. The settlement included a substantial donation to her charity for victims’ rights and contained no admission of liability.
Emails reveal internal tensions and wider context
The draft statement was part of an exchange between Maxwell and Epstein as they discussed how to respond publicly to mounting allegations. Epstein, who later died in a New York prison cell on 10 August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, replied that the wording raised unresolved questions, writing: “Her and Andrew?… what’s the deal here? why is she there?”
Maxwell responded that she needed the statement “asap” and wanted to clarify that she “was not aware of massage w/andrew in my house”. The exchange appears to sit uneasily alongside Maxwell’s earlier public assertion that the photograph was “literally a fake photo”.
The broader tranche of Epstein-related material also sheds further light on Andrew’s continued association with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction. Emails released previously include a message from Epstein in July 2011 stating: “Yes, she [Giuffre] was on my plane and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew.”
The latest documents also contain photographs of Andrew kneeling over an unidentified woman and emails in which Epstein offered to introduce him to a “beautiful” 26-year-old Russian woman named Irina. Other correspondence shows Epstein being invited to Buckingham Palace, and suggests Andrew’s contact with Epstein continued until at least 2017, years after the former duke had claimed he cut ties in 2010.
In October last year, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Andrew had been stripped of his remaining royal titles and would vacate his royal residence. He has continued to deny all allegations of sexual misconduct.
