Bombshell Epstein Email Claims Andrew Had ‘Consensual’ Encounter With Virginia Giuffre

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of sexual abuse that some readers may find distressing.

A newly surfaced email from the Jeffrey Epstein document trove has reignited allegations that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lied about his connection to Virginia Giuffre. The correspondence, contained within thousands of pages released in the United States, appears to reference an alleged encounter between the two—a claim the former Duke of York has repeatedly denied.

The center of the controversy is a 2015 exchange that suggests Andrew’s alleged relationship with Giuffre was being discussed as an accepted fact within Epstein’s own communications. Giuffre—previously known as Virginia Roberts—became one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers and later a vocal advocate for survivors of s-- trafficking. She alleged that she was trafficked as a teenager by Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. In court filings, she claimed she was compelled to have s-- with Mountbatten-Windsor on three occasions in 2001, in New York, London, and the US Virgin Islands, when she was 17. Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied those allegations. In 2022, he reached an out-of-court settlement with Ms. Giuffre in a civil case, without admitting liability, for an undisclosed amount.

The email drawing fresh scrutiny forms part of a January 16, 2015, conversation between Epstein and Landon Thomas Jr., a former New York Times financial journalist. The discussion was about the reputational fallout Epstein was facing and how best to manage it. In advising him, the journalist suggested that Mountbatten-Windsor's name was prolonging the scandal, writing, "I can see why a statement might help in some way—but its (sic) Andrew (not clinton and the rest) that is keeping the story alive. Until you are able to come forward and address that the story lives on."

“I mean in the end he [Andrew] had consensual sex with VR [Virginia Roberts/Giuffre]. And VR worked for you. The rest is atmospherics."

“You have moved on! People don't know that and cant (sic) accept that unless you say as much.”

The significance is also in what followed. In the material that has been made public, Epstein does not challenge the assertion that Mountbatten-Windsor 'had consensual sex' with Giuffre—an allegation the former Duke of York has consistently denied in public statements and interviews. Additional correspondence from the same batch of documents added further context. In a separate email conversation from January 2015 between Epstein and Maxwell, Maxwell wrote that she was “stating for the record as fact” that she had introduced Mountbatten-Windsor to Giuffre at her London home, where a photograph was taken.

A draft statement Maxwell prepared and sent to Epstein included the lines: "In 2001, I was in London when (redacted) met a number of friends of mine, including Prince Andrew."

“A photograph was taken as I imagine she wanted to show it to friends and family.”

But Mountbatten-Windsor had denied that the photograph was authentic. He claimed to have been at a Pizza Express in Woking and said at the time, "Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored, but I don't recollect that photograph ever being taken.”

If you are being subjected to sexual assault, or know of anyone who is, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673)

If you know of any children who are being subjected to abuse, please contact The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at (800) 422-4453