A newly revealed email confession from the late financier Jeffrey Epstein has confirmed the authenticity of the infamous photograph of Prince Andrew with then-teenager Virginia Giuffre, dealing a devastating blow to the Duke of York's long-standing denials.
The Bombshell Confirmation
For years, allies of the now-disgraced royal claimed the image was a fake. However, this position has been completely undermined by the emergence of a 2011 email in which Epstein openly admitted the photograph's legitimacy to a journalist. The email was part of a thousands-strong document dump unsealed from Epstein's estate and published by the US House Oversight Committee.
In the exchange, when questioned about the image, Epstein stated, "Yes she (Virginia) was on my plane, and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew, as many of my employees have." The photograph was taken by Epstein himself on a disposable camera before the group, which included Ghislaine Maxwell, went out for dinner and to a nightclub.
A Deepening Royal Crisis
The confirmation of the photo's authenticity is a fresh catastrophe for Prince Andrew, who has vehemently denied Giuffre's allegations that she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17. The image was taken in 2011, the same year the email was sent.
This development comes just a month after Andrew was stripped of his royal titles and military honours and effectively banished from public royal life. The released documents also contain a 2011 email from Andrew to Epstein and Maxwell, in which the then-Duke pleads with them to clear his name, writing, "I can't take any more of this." This is particularly damaging as it occurred months after Andrew publicly claimed to have severed all contact with the convicted paedophile.
Wider Repercussions and Legacy
The leaked emails also shed light on the activities of other high-profile individuals, revealing that Donald Trump "spent hours" at Epstein's home with one of the financier's alleged victims.
Tragically, Virginia Giuffre, who was at the centre of these allegations, took her own life in April 2025. The ongoing controversy continues to haunt the Royal Family, with recent reports indicating that Andrew's name may change again to include a hyphen (Mountbatten-Windsor), following a request from the late Queen, further cementing his removal from the inner circle of working royals.
