Virginia Giuffre has insisted the original copy of an infamous photograph of her and Prince Andrew is "not in her possession".
Prince Andrew wanted a photo analysed
On Tuesday (15.02.22), it was confirmed the Duke of York had reached an out-of-court settlement with his sexual assault accuser, but before the agreement was reached, the 61-year-old prince had asked Virginia to hand over the picture so they could check its authenticity with a photographic expert.
However, a source close to Virginia's legal team told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that she does not currently have the photograph - which features Andrew standing with his arm around her and was apparently taken by late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell in March 2001 - in her possession, though they insisted it didn't mean the picture has been lost or that it might not turn up at a later date.
Virginia - who alleged that she was sexually abused by Andrew in 2001 when she was just 17 years old - had previously said she packed the photo when she had her belongings shipped from Colorado to her new home in Australia and had last seen it in 2015.
The picture was first made public when the Mail on Sunday paid $140,000 to publish it in 2011, plus $20,000 for two interviews but it is believed the publication's photographer took a photo of the original image, meaning the millions of reproductions seen since were merely based on a copy.
The photo was seen as key evidence on both sides as for Virginia, it was her only proof she had met Andrew, who has denied all her allegations.
The prince's team wanted to check the original or would have questioned its authenticity.
In his notorious 'Newsnight' interview in 2019, Andrew insisted he had "absolutely no memory" of the picture being taken, couldn't remember ever going upstairs in Ghislaine's house and had never seen Epstein with a camera.
He even suggested the arm around Virginia's waist may not have been his and "nobody can prove" whether the image had been doctored.
He said: “From the investigations that we've done, you can't prove whether or not that photograph is faked or not because it is a photograph of a photograph of a photograph.
“So it's very difficult to be able to prove it.”
Virginia had accused Epstein - who took his own life in August 2019 - and his one-time girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell of arranging and forcing her into having sex with the prince and had taken action against Andrew in a civil case.
The pair's legal teams confirmed in a letter to the court on Tuesday that they had "reached a settlement in principle", which is believed to be worth between £7.5 and £12 million.
In the court documents, Andrew acknowledged the ways Virginia has "suffered" and expressed his "regret" over his friendship with Epstein.
The paperwork stated: “Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out-of-court settlement. The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed).
"Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights. Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks."
The document continued: “It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.
“He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.”
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