Mystery Thumb Appears In Uncropped Photo Of Prince Andrew And Virginia Giuffre

The original and uncropped version of the infamous photo of Prince Andrew with his arm round Virginia Giuffre shows the photographer's thumb on the right hand side.

The snap shows the Duke of York - who has now been stripped of his military titles and Royal patronages by the Queen - with his arm around a then 17-year-old Giuffre while convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell can be seen smiling behind the pair.

According to reports, the picture was taken back in March 2001 in a property belonging to Maxwell. The identity of the person who took the photo remains a mystery.

This comes after a US judge dismissed a motion to have Giuffre's lawsuit thrown out, meaning Andrew will now face a civil sex case trial.

The picture in question - see highlighted area.

Giuffre, who accuses the prince of sexual assault, said that she wants to be ‘vindicated’ and is not motivated by reaching a ‘purely financial settlement’.

Prince Andrew denies the allegations.

Last week, Buckingham Palace confirmed that all of the military titles and royal affiliations bestowed on Prince Andrew had been returned to the Queen.

An official statement from the Royal Family reads: "With The Queen's approval and agreement, The Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen.

“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”

Doug Peters/Alamy Stock Photo

It had been suggested that Andrew could seek to settle the lawsuit against him, but Giuffre’s lawyer David Boies suggested that money might not be the deciding factor in whether a settlement is accepted.

Speaking on BBC Newsnight, Boies said: “I think it’s very important to Virginia Giuffre that this matter be resolved in a way that vindicates her and vindicates the other victims.

“I don’t think that she has a firm view at this point, nor could she, as to exactly what the resolution should be.

“But I think what’s going to be important is that this resolution vindicates her and vindicates the claim she’s made.”

Boies also said that he and his team had reached out to the Duke of York’s lawyers on the topic of mediation, but ‘there was no interest at that time’.