Prince Andrew at Ascot races with Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein in never-before-seen photos

2313

Newly unearthed photographs show Prince Andrew‘s friends, billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged pimp Ghislaine Maxwell at Ascot racecourse.

Epstein, dressed in a top hat and morning suit, has a grin across his face as he walks with Miss Maxwell and the Duke of York through the heart of the British establishment.

Pictured in June 2000, Prince Andrew had been introduced to Epstein just months before by Miss Maxwell, then known for being the daughter of newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell.

Miss Maxwell, who walks in between the prince and Epstein, is obscured by the hat of a lady walking in front of her. 

It was during this time that Miss Maxwell and Epstein were to attend Windsor Castle, just a few miles from the racecourse, as guests of the prince for his birthday.

The Dance of the Decades, a lavish party hosted by the Queen, celebrated four royal birthdays, including Prince Andrew’s 40th, the Princess Royal’s 50th, the Queen Mother’s 100th and Princess Margaret’s 70th.

In Prince Andrew’s interview with Newsnight last month he said Epstein was there at his invitation, not the Royal Family’s. He added that the financier was Miss Maxwell’s ‘plus one.’

Prince Andrew, left, with Ghislaine Maxwell, centre in a green jacket and pink hat, her face obscured by a lady in front, and Jeffrey Epstein, right, at Royal Ascot on June 22, 2000

Prince Andrew, left, with Ghislaine Maxwell, centre in a green jacket and pink hat, her face obscured by a lady in front, and Jeffrey Epstein, right, at Royal Ascot on June 22, 2000

Prince Andrew, left, with Ghislaine Maxwell, centre in a green jacket and pink hat, her face obscured by a lady in front, and Jeffrey Epstein, right, at Royal Ascot on June 22, 2000

Prince Andrew alongside Ghislaine Maxwell at Royal Ascot on June 22, 2000. As well as their outing at Ascot, Miss Maxwell and Epstein were guests of Prince Andrew at Windsor Castle for his birthday at the Dance of the Decades during the time

Prince Andrew alongside Ghislaine Maxwell at Royal Ascot on June 22, 2000. As well as their outing at Ascot, Miss Maxwell and Epstein were guests of Prince Andrew at Windsor Castle for his birthday at the Dance of the Decades during the time

Prince Andrew alongside Ghislaine Maxwell at Royal Ascot on June 22, 2000. As well as their outing at Ascot, Miss Maxwell and Epstein were guests of Prince Andrew at Windsor Castle for his birthday at the Dance of the Decades during the time

The prince was photographed with Miss Maxwell at several other private functions in the UK and the US that year.

At the wedding of his former girlfriend Aurelia Cecil in Wiltshire in September 2000 and at a ‘Hookers and Pimps’ themed Halloween Party in Manhattan.

And finally, Miss Maxwell and Epstein were seen together at Sandringham in December of that year to attend what the prince has described as a ‘straightforward shooting weekend.’

Early the following year, in the most infamous photo of all, the Duke of York was pictured with his arm around the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Roberts with Miss Maxwell stood in the background.  

Ms Roberts, now known as Virginia Giuffre, told BBC’s Panorama on Monday night that she was trafficked to London by Epstein and instructed to have sex with Prince Andrew, prior to the photo being taken in Miss Maxwell’s Belgravia townhouse.

Ms Giuffre told Panorama: ‘The people on the inside are going to keep coming up with these ridiculous excuses – like his arm was elongated or the photo was doctored, or he came to New York to break up with Jeffrey Epstein. I mean, come on, I’m calling BS on this, because that’s what it is.’ 

Virginia Roberts (pictured with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell) says the prince had sex with her three times

Virginia Roberts (pictured with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell) says the prince had sex with her three times

Virginia Roberts (pictured with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell) says the prince had sex with her three times

effrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell on a 'straightforward shooting weekend' at Sandringham in December 2000

effrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell on a 'straightforward shooting weekend' at Sandringham in December 2000

Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell at the wedding of his former girlfriend Aurelia Cecil in Wiltshire in September 2000

Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell at the wedding of his former girlfriend Aurelia Cecil in Wiltshire in September 2000

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell on a ‘straightforward shooting weekend’ at Sandringham in December 2000 (left) and Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell at the wedding of his former girlfriend Aurelia Cecil in Wiltshire in September 2000 (right)

The 35-year-old said that after leaving Tramp nightclub with Prince Andrew: ‘In the car Ghislaine tells me that I have to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey.

‘And that made me sick. I didn’t expect it from royalty. I didn’t expect it from someone that people look up to and admire – the Royal Family.’

She said: ‘There was a bath and it started there and it led into the bedroom. It didn’t last very long the whole entire procedure. It was disgusting.

‘He wasn’t mean or anything. But he got up and said thanks and walked out. And I sat there in bed just felt horrified and ashamed and and felt dirty.’

She added: ‘I had just been abused by a member of the royal family.’   

Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein in Manhattan in 2010. The duke quit his role as UK trade envoy the following year in the wake of the fallout from the Central Park photos

Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein in Manhattan in 2010. The duke quit his role as UK trade envoy the following year in the wake of the fallout from the Central Park photos

Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein in Manhattan in 2010. The duke quit his role as UK trade envoy the following year in the wake of the fallout from the Central Park photos

Virginia Roberts,  pictured just days ago, is appearing on Panorama on Monday night

Virginia Roberts,  pictured just days ago, is appearing on Panorama on Monday night

Andrew's attempts to defend himself against Ms Giuffre's accusations and explain his friendship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender, in a BBC Newsnight interview failed dramatically

Andrew's attempts to defend himself against Ms Giuffre's accusations and explain his friendship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender, in a BBC Newsnight interview failed dramatically

Virginia Roberts,  pictured left just days ago, is appearing on BBC Panorama on Monday night after Prince Andrew (right with Emily Maitlis) denied having sex with her on Newsnight last month

The Duke of York emphatically denies any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Giuffre and says he has no recollection of meeting her.

Prince Andrew told Emily Maitlis previously: ‘You can’t prove whether or not that photograph is faked because it’s a photograph of a photograph of a photograph.

‘It’s very difficult to be able to prove it but I don’t remember that photograph being taken…That’s me but whether that’s my hand…I have simply no recollection of the photograph ever being taken.’

How Duke of York’s meetings with Jeffrey Epstein have brought him decades of trouble since 1990s 

– 1990s

Andrew first meets Epstein, reportedly introduced through his friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell. Andrew welcomes Epstein to the Queen’s private Scottish retreat in Aberdeenshire. Andrew later says he sees Epstein ‘infrequently’, adding ‘probably no more than only once or twice a year’.

– 2000

Andrew and Ms Maxwell are seen on holiday with Epstein at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Epstein and Ms Maxwell attend a party at Windsor Castle hosted by the Queen to mark Andrew’s 40th birthday, the Princess Royal’s 50th, the Queen Mother’s 100th and Princess Margaret’s 70th.

– 2001

Virginia Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew ‘three times, including one orgy’, with the first encounter allegedly taking place in Ms Maxwell’s London townhouse. Ms Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew on two more occasions, at Epstein’s New York home and at an ‘orgy’ on his private island in the Caribbean.

– 2008

Epstein admits prostituting minors and is sentenced to 18 months in prison.

– 2010

Epstein is released from jail. Andrew is photographed with the disgraced Epstein in New York’s Central Park. Footage emerges years later, reportedly shot on December 6 2010, showing him inside Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, from where he is seen looking out from a large door of the property waving a woman goodbye after Epstein leaves to get into a chauffeur-driven car.

– 2011

The duke quits his role as UK trade envoy after the fallout from the Central Park photos.

– 2015

Buckingham Palace denies Andrew has committed any impropriety after he is named in US court documents related to Epstein. A woman, later named in reports as Ms Roberts, alleges in papers filed in Florida that she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, which is under the age of consent in the state.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Andrew, in his first public engagement since he was embroiled in the allegations, responds, saying: ‘Firstly I think I must, and want, for the record, to refer to the events that have taken place in the last few weeks.

‘I just wish to reiterate, and to reaffirm, the statements that have already been made on my behalf by Buckingham Palace.’ In April the claims against Andrew are struck from US civil court records following a federal judge’s ruling.

– 2019

Newly released legal documents show that Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged Epstein victim, claimed Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire’s Manhattan apartment in 2001. Buckingham Palace said the allegations are ‘categorically untrue’. Epstein is found dead in his jail cell on August 10, having killed himself after being charged with sex trafficking.

Later that month a pilot on Epstein’s private jet claims Andrew was a passenger on past flights with the financier and Ms Roberts. The Sun newspaper reported that David Rodgers said in a testimony released in August that Epstein, Andrew and the-then 17-year-old travelled to the US Virgin Islands on April 11 2001. Buckingham Palace describes the evidence statement as having ‘a number of inconsistencies’ and said that Andrew was on a different continent in some cases.

Following Epstein’s death, a statement from the palace says that Andrew is ‘appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes’. Breaking his silence on the issue for the first time since 2015, Andrew then releases a statement on August 24 saying: ‘At no stage during the limited time I spent with him (Epstein) did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.’ 

On November 16, the prince gave a ‘disastrous’ BBC interview in which he spoke about his friendship with Epstein and addressed allegations of his own sexual conduct. He faced a barrage of criticism following his television appearance, with the royal accused of a lack of empathy with Epstein’s victims. 

During the interview, Andrew, questioned by Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, twice stated his relationship with Epstein, who died in jail while facing sex trafficking charges, had some ‘seriously beneficial outcomes’, giving him the opportunity to meet people and prepare for a future role as a trade envoy. The duke denied he slept with Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, on three separate occasions, twice while she was underage, saying one encounter in 2001 did not happen as he spent the day with his daughter Princess Beatrice, taking her to Pizza Express in Woking for a party.

The same alleged sexual liaison, which the American said began with the royal sweating heavily as they danced at London nightclub Tramp, was factually wrong as the duke said he had a medical condition at the time which meant he did not sweat. He cast doubt on the authenticity of a picture that appears to show Andrew with his arm around the waist of Mrs Giuffre, when a teenager.