Virginia Giuffre's family say she's vindicated after Ghislaine 'explains truth' behind Andrew photo
Members of Virginia Giuffre's family have responded to an email from Ghislane Maxwell about the controversial photo of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with his arm around Giuffre as a minor.
Giuffre, who was one of the former prince's alleged victims, spoke out about her involvement with the likes of Jeffrey Epstein, before committing suicide in 2025.
The mum, who was 17 in the infamous photo, claimed that she was forced to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor on three separate occasions throughout 2001 and 2002, which he has continually denied.
There have also been claims that the photo is fake and has been edited.
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However, an email written from Maxwell to Epstein in 2015 has surfaced in the latest released batch of three million documents relating to the Epstein files from the Department of Justice (DoJ) which could dispute the claims that the photo of Giuffre and Andrew is fake.
Maxwell 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."
Sky Roberts, Giuffre's brother, told BBC Newsnight that the revelation of this email 'truly does vindicate' his late sister.
"It shows that not only was she not lying this entire time, even though many people across multiple countries indicated that she was," he added.
"It's a moment where we are really proud of our sister, it is a vindicating moment, but we also want to use this as a moment to remind people to believe survivors."
Giuffre's sister in law, Amanda Roberts, has also spoken out about the 'whirlwind' the family have been going through amidst the numerous releases of millions of documents known as the Epstein Files.
Amanda said: "I've felt like a moment of such overwhelming emotion because I wish she was here to see this, she fought so hard and so long and she was still so strong," adding that Giuffre was 'greatly' missed by her loved ones.
The family added in a statement to the BBC that they hoped Andrew would be facing 'criminal charges' for his actions.
As for the email from Maxwell, it read further: "I never asked (redacted) to give him a massage."
She clarified that there was 'no knowledge' of Giuffre 'having sexual activity' with any 'famous people' or Andrew himself, adding: "I am stating for the record as fact."
"Prince Andrew came to my house to visit me – [redacted] was in the house and they did meet."
Her resurfaced statement will likely prove to be an issue to Andrew, who previously claimed he had a controversial Pizza Express alibi.
Epstein replied at the time, saying that this statement left 'too many unanswered questions', writing: "Her and Andrew?…what's the deal here? why is she there?"
Maxwell said she needed a statement 'asap' and added that she 'was not aware of massage w/andrew in my house', which contradicts her previous claim that the picture of her, Andrew, and Giuffre was 'literally a fake photo'.
The former Duke of York reached a reported out-of-court settlement of £12 million with Giuffre back in 2022, ending her US civil sexual assault lawsuit.
It resulted in a huge donation to her charity for victims' rights, with no admission of liability by the royal, who even previously claimed that he had 'no recollection' of the infamous snap.
Topics: Virginia Giuffre, Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, News
Joshua Nair