Ghislaine Maxwell Email 'Confirms' That Prince Andrew And Virginia Giuffre Photo Is Real

A leaked email from the disgraced socialite Ghislaine Maxwell seems to suggest that the famous picture showing Virginia Giuffre – then Virginia Roberts – standing beside Prince Andrew is real.

It was announced on Tuesday that the royal and Giuffre had reached a settlement which means that Giuffre’s allegations of sexual abuse will never reach a courtroom.

One of the cornerstones of the case was a photograph of the pair, with Andrew standing with his arm around the then-17-year-old Giuffre, which some had suggested was false.

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Prince Andrew has insisted that he’d never met Giuffre, who has claimed she was forced to have sex with him.

Andrew strenuously denied all allegations against him, and his statement after the settlement contained no apology.

Lawyers acting for Andrew had previously questioned whether the photo was real, and his lawyers had requested access to it in order to prove whether it was ‘fake’.

However, according to leaked emails seen by the Daily Mail, Maxwell – who is herself in the picture – said that she believed it to be genuine.

In January 2015, her lawyer is thought to have sent her a message that said: "Dear G. Do you know whether the photo of Andrew and Virginia is real? You are in the background.”

Then, it is reported that she responded: “It looks real. I think it is.”

Maxwell now faces prison after she was found guilty of recruiting and grooming teenage girls for paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

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She is due to be sentenced on June 28 2022.

After the settlement was reached, David Boies – representing Giuffre – sent a letter to US judge Lewis A. Kaplan which read: “Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out of court settlement.

“The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms. Giuffre's receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed).

“Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights.

“Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.

“It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years."

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“Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.

Eight victims of Jeffrey Epstein released a statement of their own after the settlement.

Through their lawyer Lisa Bloom, they said: “We hail Virginia’s victory today. She has accomplished what no one else could: getting Prince Andrew to stop his nonsense and side with sexual abuse victims.

The statement concluded: “We salute Virginia’s stunning courage.”