LONDON

An email from Ghislaine Maxwell appears to confirm that a widely circulated photo showing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then duke of York, with his arm around Virginia Giuffre, who accused the former prince of sexual abuse, is real, according to media reports on Wednesday.

The message, released in the latest files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was titled "draft statement," sent by a "G Maxwell" to Jeffrey Epstein in 2015.

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."

The family of Giuffre, who died in 2025, told the BBC that the email showed she had been "vindicated."

Giuffre, who took her own life in April 2025, accused Mountbatten-Windsor, younger brother of King Charles III, of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager.

The former prince, who has always denied any wrongdoing, has previously questioned whether the picture had been doctored, and claimed he had never met Giuffre.

In 2019, the former duke of York claimed that he could not have been in the photo as he was at a Pizza Express in Woking at the time.

"It truly does vindicate Virginia ... she was not lying this entire time," said Sky Roberts, Giuffre's brother.

"It's a moment where we're really proud of our sister," he added.

Last year, an email from Epstein, dated July 2011, published by Democrats on the US House Oversight Committee, also appeared to confirm that the former prince was photographed with Giuffre.

The message sent by Epstein -- who is alleged to have taken the photo -- reads: "Yes she (Giuffre) was on my plane and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew."

In a 2019 interview with Newsnight, Mountbatten-Windsor denied meeting Giuffre, and suggested that the photograph -- or elements of it -- may have been faked.

Andrew moves out of Royal Lodge home amid protests

Meanwhile, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor moved out of his home in Windsor on Monday night to the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.

According to the reports, he is currently living at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate while his permanent home undergoes renovations.

Citing Buckingham Palace, the BBC said that the move would happen in early 2026, but the fallout from the latest drop of Epstein files appears to have expedited his departure.

Separately, anti-monarchy activists on Wednesday put "Crime Scene" tape on the railings of Buckingham Palace as part of a protest following the release of Epstein files.

Activists from the Republic group held up a banner saying "Charles, what are you hiding?" while yellow and black "Crime Scene. Do Not Enter" tape was run along the fence.

In a statement, Graham Smith from Republic group, said: "It is not reasonable to think Charles, William and senior aides were not aware of Andrew's behaviour. They would have been briefed, if only to know what they needed to protect themselves from."

He added: "With European royals as well as business people and politicians from around the world caught up in Epstein's network, it is highly unlikely there haven't been other UK royals meeting with him."

Saying that secrecy is the "default position" for the royals, Smith claimed that royals do not believe the public have a right to know what they're up to, and they don't want their secrets seeing the light of day."

"The stakes are now too high to tolerate that secrecy any longer. We need full disclosure from the royals," he added.

The US Justice Department recently released more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images related to Epstein under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law in November by US President Donald Trump.

The materials include photographs, grand jury transcripts, and investigative records, though many pages remain heavily redacted.

Epstein was found dead by suicide in a New York City jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.