A newly surfaced photo from 2002 has stirred more controversy surrounding the relationship with Prince Andrew and alleged Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell is pictured sitting with disgraced actor Kevin Spacey on royal thrones during a visit at Buckingham Palace.
Reports claim the photo was taken when the pair visited the palace with former US President Bill Clinton, whose relationship with accused sex-trafficker and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein also has come under scrutiny.
Spacey’s career was derailed three years ago by allegations of s separate to those leveled at Epstein and Maxwell. Charges against him have been dropped.
The photo was published on the front page of Britain’s The Daily Telegraph over the weekend, days after Maxwell was arrested by the FBI for her alleged role in recruiting, grooming and sexually abusing girls as young as 14 as part of a years-long sex trafficking scheme.
Maxwell was the former girlfriend and long-time companion of Epstein, who while awaiting trial for charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking.
Jeffery Epstein was an American financier, socialite and convicted sex offender who allegedly abused hundreds of young girls and women.
Prince Andrew and Epstein
Prince Andrew has long been embroiled in the Epstein allegations. The royal has a well-documented friendship with the alleged pedophile. The Duke of York and Epstein were introduced in 1999 by Maxwell but the royal has repeatedly denied knowing about Epstein’s wrong-doings.
His denials are refuted by one of Epstein’s most prominent survivors -- Virginia Robers Giuffre. One of the first to speak out about the alleged abuse at the hands of Maxwell and Epstein, Giuffre claims that she was forced into sexual encounters with the prince and other men while she was underage.
Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts, now Giuffre, aged 17 at Ghislaine Maxwell’s townhouse in London, 2001. Source: Rex/Shutterstock
In a November denies these claims and says he never met Giuffre, insisting that a photograph of them together is doctored.
Prince Andrew's accuser Virginia Giuffre. Source: AAP
Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein
Maxwell has faced ongoing allegations of procuring and trafficking underage girls for Epstein and has so-far denied the chargers. The pair were romantically involved in the 1990s and remained in close company.
Virginia Robers Giuffre has accused Maxwell of trafficking her and other underage girls. They first met at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, where Giuffre was working at the time.
There have been several civil suits leveled at Maxwell by survivors of Epstein’s abuse. The 58-year-old was and now faces criminal charges.
A friend of Maxwell, Laura Goldman, told the US TV news program Today that Maxwell would never say anything about Prince Andrew’s relationship with Epstein.
