A newly disclosed image from the Jeffrey Epstein files appears to show ex‑Prince Andrew at Epstein's New York flat with a woman sitting on his lap, in a further uncomfortable twist to the disgraced royal's long‑scrutinised links to the late financier.
The files form part of a rolling release of material by US authorities linked to Epstein's activities and his influential network of contacts. The documents and photographs, some of them heavily redacted, have repeatedly dragged Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor back into the spotlight years after he said he regretted his friendship with the convicted sex offender.
The grainy photograph, which surfaced online this week, shows a figure strongly resembling the 66‑year‑old ex‑Prince Andrew, hair grey and thinning, sits on a sofa at what is said to be Epstein's New York City residence. He wears a light blue collared shirt and his arms are crossed over the midsection of a woman perched on his lap.
The woman's face is blacked out. She has blonde hair and is wearing a grey jumper.
A second image reportedly shows Andrew seated at a table while another unidentified person leans in from behind to hug him.
These images are part of a wider set of photographs held in the Epstein files and released by the US Department of Justice, which already includedother shots apparently showing Andrew kneeling on all fours over a fully clothed womanon the floor, her face similarly obscured. Andrew has consistently denied criminal wrongdoing, but has not personally commented on the newest photographs at the time of writing.
Alongside the photographs, newly released emails from Epstein's files shed more light on the tone of Andrew's communications with the financier once he emerged from his first criminal case.
Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to soliciting prostitution and served around 13 months in custody, followed by a period of house arrest at his Palm Beach mansion. He resumed international travel in 2010, and the correspondence suggests Andrew was keen to reconnect.
In messages dated 24 July 2010, Epstein wrote: 'I will be in paris starting tomorrow.' Andrew's reply, according to the released emails, the ex-prince celebrated Epstein's release. 'Congratulations! DS told me you were allowed out from yesterday. How long in Paris for? I am back in London from 16th. A,' he wrote.
'Im totally complete and done will be in paris for a while. then the ranch in new mexico. .. there is so much opportunity here [sic] had non stop all day meetings and my friends are super flush with cash, and nothing to do,' Epstein told Andrew.
Source: International Business Times UK
