Epstein files released: Photo of Andrew Mountbatten with Ghislaine Maxwell emerges; prince seen laying across women’s laps

As the latest set of Epstein files was made public on Friday, a black-and-white image of a younger Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, surfaced showing him dressed in black-tie attire and reclining across the laps of several women whose faces are blacked out.Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate and convicted sex trafficker, appears in the photograph smiling down at him, while Andrew is pictured smiling with his eyes closed.The image is among “several hundred thousand” documents made public by the Democrats after being uploaded to the US justice department website. Users were placed in a queue as the site experienced an “extremely high volume of search requests.”Also read | Epstein files released: Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Bill Clinton, and many more pictured with convicted pedophile - see photosAndrew has long faced allegations, which he denies, that he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre when she was a teenager after she was trafficked by Epstein.

In 2022, he paid millions to Giuffre to settle a civil sexual assault claim, despite having said he had “never to have met” her. He was stripped of his “His Royal Highness” and “Prince” titles in November.He has also reportedly been accused of bringing prostitutes into Buckingham Palace for years while Queen Elizabeth was aware of this, according to historian Andrew Lownie.The files also contained two photographs of Andrew’s former wife, Sarah Ferguson, with unidentified females.

Another image shows Peter Mandelson, who was sacked earlier this year as the UK’s ambassador to the US, pictured with Epstein as he is presented with a large birthday cake.The latest release follows a fresh batch of undated images from Epstein’s estate published by Democrats, none of which suggest wrongdoing.US deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said the release of the so-called “Epstein files” was required ahead of a legal deadline. He said the need to protect Epstein’s victims meant thousands more documents would be released in the coming weeks.