A newly released email from the US Justice Department appears to finally settle one of the most contentious questions surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
The message, allegedly sent by Ghislaine Maxwell to Epstein in 2015, suggests the infamous photograph of Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with his arm around teenager Virginia Giuffre is authentic.
For years, both the disgraced former prince and Maxwell disputed the image’s legitimacy.
Now, Maxwell’s own words may have undermined those denials.
What the Email Reveals
The 2015 message, headed “draft statement” and sent from “G Maxwell” to convicted sex offender Epstein in January of that year, acknowledges the photograph’s existence in matter-of-fact terms.
It 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.
Details within the statement and subsequent emails from Epstein that same day strongly indicate the redacted name refers to Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent trafficking victims.
Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking and related crimes, also appears in the controversial photograph alongside Mountbatten-Windsor and Giuffre.
Attempting Distance From the Scandal
The email’s tone suggests Maxwell was crafting a public defense strategy. She insisted she didn’t see “anything improper that took place at my home.”
In a separate message to Epstein sent the same day, Maxwell appeared to be coordinating their stories.
I have to distance myself from you in statement too. And they need me to say I was not aware of massage (with) andrew in my house.
CNN has reached out to Maxwell’s representatives and attempted to contact Mountbatten-Windsor’s team for comment but has not received responses.
Years of Denials Contradicted
Mountbatten-Windsor’s public statements about the photograph have consistently cast doubt on its authenticity. In a disastrous 2019 BBC interview, he claimed he had “no recollection of the photograph ever being taken.”
When pressed about whether he believed the image was fake, he hedged carefully.
Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored.
He added that while it appeared to be him in the photo, “we can’t be certain” whether it was actually his hand on Giuffre’s waist.
Maxwell had similarly dismissed the photograph’s legitimacy. Speaking from a Florida jail to British broadcaster TalkTV in 2023, she declared her certainty it wasn’t real.
I don’t believe it is real for a second, in fact, I’m sure it’s not. There has never been an original.
Giuffre’s Account of That Night
In her posthumous memoir “Nobody’s Girl,” Giuffre provided detailed information about the photograph’s origins. She described meeting Mountbatten-Windsor at Maxwell’s London townhouse on March 10, 2001, when she was just 17 years old.
According to Giuffre, she took the photo with her disposable Kodak FunSaver camera and developed it several days later in West Palm Beach on March 13, 2001.
She claimed she was forced to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor a few hours after the photograph was taken. Giuffre repeatedly alleged she was trafficked to the former prince on three separate occasions—in London, New York, and at Little St. James, commonly known as Epstein Island.
Giuffre showed the original print to Mail on Sunday reporter Sharon Churcher and photographer Michael Thomas during an interview in Australia in 2011, where Thomas photographed the physical print.
A Vindication for Giuffre’s Family
Giuffre tragically died by suicide in 2025 after years of publicly sharing her story despite facing skepticism and attacks on her credibility.
Her family told the BBC that the email’s release represented a profound vindication.
It shows that not only was she not lying this entire time … she was telling the truth.
Her brother Sky Roberts emphasized the broader implications beyond their family’s experience.
It’s a moment where we’re really proud of our sister. I think that it is a vindicating moment, but we also want to use this as a moment to remind people to believe survivors.
Contradictions in Mountbatten-Windsor’s Timeline
Additional emails in the Justice Department document release reveal further inconsistencies in Mountbatten-Windsor’s public statements.
After the photograph was published in British media, Mountbatten-Windsor emailed Epstein with what appears to be a message of solidarity.
It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it… Otherwise keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!
This exchange directly contradicts claims Mountbatten-Windsor made to the BBC that he had severed all contact with Epstein in 2010.
In another email from July 1, 2011, Epstein wrote to an unidentified recipient about someone who was on his plane and had “her picture taken with Andrew as many of my employees have.” Though the name is redacted, contextual details suggest this also referred to Giuffre.
Political and Royal Fallout
The Epstein scandal has progressively dismantled Mountbatten-Windsor’s position within Britain’s royal family. King Charles III stripped him of royal titles and ordered him to vacate the Royal Lodge on Windsor Estate last year.
While Mountbatten-Windsor reached a settlement with Giuffre in 2022 that resolved her sexual abuse lawsuit, he never admitted wrongdoing. He did, however, acknowledge Giuffre’s suffering as a trafficking victim.
The latest document release, which includes photographs that reportedly show Mountbatten-Windsor on all fours leaning over a woman or girl lying on the floor, has intensified political pressure.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has publicly called on Mountbatten-Windsor to testify before the US Congress regarding his connections to Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor maintained in his 2019 BBC interview that he had “no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever”—a claim that appears increasingly untenable given Maxwell’s acknowledgment of their meeting in her own words.