A newly released photograph showing the Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, sprawled across the laps of five women at a party attended by Ghislaine Maxwell has been dismissed by a friend as mere 'hi-jinks'. The image is part of a devastating cache of 300,000 documents from the so-called Epstein Files, released by the US Department of Justice.
The Sandringham Scene: A Party for Maxwell's Birthday
The black and white photograph was taken at the Royal Family's Sandringham estate in Norfolk in early December 2000. The event was a party hosted by Andrew to mark the 39th birthday of Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and accomplice of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. A friend of the former prince told The Telegraph: 'We don't see what the problem is. It's just hi-jinks at a party. He's fully clothed.'
However, starkly contrasting this characterisation, a new book alleges the gathering was a debauched affair. 'The Windsor Legacy' by Robert Jobson cites a palace source claiming staff discovered bathrooms littered with sexual paraphernalia after the party, including lubricants, condoms, and sex drugs known as poppers.
Access and Aftermath: A Royal Inner Sanctum Compromised
The picture was taken in Sandringham's opulent saloon, a room traditionally used by the Royal Family for Christmas Eve tea and to watch the King's Speech. Royal author Andrew Lownie stated the image would 'horrify his family', describing the room as a private inner sanctum appallingly treated as a venue for Andrew to 'show off'.
The photograph is one of several in the files showing the extraordinary access Andrew granted Epstein and Maxwell. Other images include the pair with Andrew in the Royal Box at Ascot in June 2000, and shooting on the moors at Balmoral in 1999. The files also contain photos of Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, with unidentified women.
A Wider Pattern of Depravity
The vast tranche of released material goes far beyond Andrew's associations. It includes digital albums of Epstein with world leaders, hundreds of pictures of nude girls, and graphic images from inside his properties. FBI testimony reveals the financier abused girls as young as 12 and would sometimes check IDs to confirm they were underage.
Andrew, who was stripped of his royal titles and military affiliations last month, has consistently denied allegations he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre when she was 17. He is expected to move out of Royal Lodge in Windsor and into a smaller property on the Sandringham estate early in the New Year.
The release of these documents continues to raise profound questions about the conduct of public figures and the environments they enabled for individuals with deeply disturbing reputations.
