Truth finally revealed about image that will forever haunt Andrew

The disgraced royal has long insisted the image with the young woman who accused him of sexual assault was fake.

A photo of the former Prince Andrew with his arm around Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexual assault, appears to be real, suggests an email released in the latest batch of Epstein files.

The former royal, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has steadfastly denied meeting Giuffre and questioned whether the photo was real.

But an email, apparently from Jeffrey Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, appears to confirm the photo was not fake, the BBC reports.

READ MORE: The former Prince Andrew moves to King Charles III's private estate after Epstein document uproar

The photograph appearing to show Prince Andrew with Virginia Roberts Giuffre and, in the background, Ghislaine Maxwell who has repeated her claims the image is a fake.

Released by the US Justice Department, it is headed "draft statement", sent by a "G Maxwell" to Epstein in 2015.

"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," she wrote.

Giuffre died last April at her family home in Western Australia.

Her family says that the email showed Giuffre had been "vindicated".

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

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

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Prince Andrew Newsnight 2

US officials redacted the person's name from the released version of the statement, but the details point to Maxwell , who was convicted of recruiting young girls into sex trafficking, discussing Giuffre.

During a 2019 interview with the BBC, Mountbatten-Windsor denied meeting Giuffre and suggested the photo may have been faked.

He said at the time: "Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored but I don't recollect that photograph ever being taken."

He also famously claimed he was not at Maxwell's house but at a pizza restaurant in the town of Woking, south-west of London.

The former Prince Andrew has moved out of his longtime home on crown-owned land near Windsor Castle earlier than expected after the latest release of the Epstein files.

The 65-year-old brother of King Charles III, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, left the Royal Lodge in Windsor on Monday and is now living on the king's Sandringham estate in eastern England, Britain's Press Association reported.

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