The picture with ‘no innocent explanation’
Captured in 2001 but only made public a decade later, this photograph has had enduring repercussions. The image, taken by Jeffrey Epstein, shows Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with his arm around then 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre, while Ghislaine Maxwell, later convicted as a sex trafficker, stands beside them. Giuffre later alleged that Andrew sexually abused her when she was a minor, an accusation he has consistently denied.
"It was a pose that had ‘no innocent explanation’," said Wendy Murphy, a former sex crimes prosecutor. For years, Andrew claimed the photo was doctored, but emails released with Epstein’s files in 2023 appeared to contradict this assertion.
In 2022, Andrew settled a civil lawsuit filed by Giuffre in New York, which alleged he sexually assaulted her on three occasions. The settlement did not include any admission of liability, and Andrew has maintained his denial of the allegations.
The walk in the park
On 20 February 2011, the News of the World ran a story questioning why the fourth in line to the British throne was meeting with a convicted child sex offender, even if he was a billionaire. The article was based on a 2010 photograph showing Andrew walking through New York City with Jeffrey Epstein.
"Just what is the 4th in line to the throne doing meeting a convicted child-sex pervert … even if he is a billionaire?"
The question was considered reasonable given Epstein’s 2008 conviction and imprisonment for soliciting prostitution from a minor, which occurred two years before the meeting. When interviewed by Emily Maitlis eight years after the photo surfaced, Andrew stated he had visited Epstein to end their association and felt it was honorable to do so in person.
However, this explanation was undermined by an email Andrew sent to Epstein in 2011, following the publication of the Giuffre photograph. In the email, which became public in 2023, Andrew wrote: "We are in this together" and added, "Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon."
The female on the floor
In April 2023, the US Justice Department released over three million documents related to the Epstein case, including photographs of Andrew crouching over an unidentified female lying on the floor. In one image, his hand rests on her stomach; in another, he is smiling and kneeling above her with his hands on either side of her torso. These images are undated, lack captions or location details, and do not indicate any wrongdoing.
The arrest
A notable photograph captured by photographer Phil Noble shows Andrew leaving Aylsham police station on the day of his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The caption reads:
"Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, younger brother of Britain’s King Charles, formerly known as Prince Andrew, leaves Aylsham police station on a vehicle, on the day he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office."
This image is historically significant as it depicts the first royal to be arrested since King Charles I in 1647. Andrew was held by police for over ten hours before being released under investigation.
Phil Noble took six frames in total—two showed police, two were blank, one was out of focus, and one captured the unprecedented moment of a senior royal being treated as a common criminal in modern history.
