The family of Virginia Giuffre has spoken out following the release of an email attributed to Ghislaine Maxwell, which mentions the well-known photograph of Giuffre and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Giuffre, who tragically passed away by suicide last year, accused the former Duke of York of sexual abuse, dating back to 2001 when she encountered the royal in London, UK.
Giuffre alleged she was abused by Andrew on multiple occasions after being trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein’s associates, including Maxwell. The former Duke of York has consistently denied these allegations.
A photograph capturing a 17-year-old Giuffre with Andrew, reportedly taken at Maxwell’s London residence, has been controversial, with both Maxwell and Andrew previously claiming the image was ‘fake’.
Recently, an email unearthed from the 3,000,000 documents related to Epstein featured a message from ‘G Maxwell’. This email referenced the photo and seemed to acknowledge its authenticity.
The email stated: “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.”
Maxwell further wrote, “Prince Andrew came to my house to visit me – [redacted] was in the house and they did meet.”
Giuffre’s family has now responded, speaking to the BBC and stating that she has been ‘vindicated’.
Her brother, Sky Roberts, commented: “It truly does vindicate Virginia. It not only shows that she was not lying this entire time, even though many people across multiple countries indicated that she was, it does ‘vindicate her’.
“Not only did Ghislaine say that the photo was real but she also mentioned that it was in the same house that Virginia had mentioned.”
“It’s a moment where we’re really proud of our sister,” Roberts continued, “but we also want to use this as a moment to remind people to believe survivors.”
Despite Maxwell confirming the authenticity of the photograph, in her emails she denied any ‘improper’ conduct between Andrew and Giuffre, accusing her of making the allegations for ‘financial gain’.
Maxwell stated, “The salacious claims she makes are untrue and made purely for financial gain.”
She also noted, “The relentless media harassment to which I, Alan Dershowitz and Prince Andrew have been subjected to over the last week has become intolerable and breaches any justifiable sense of natural justice.”
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org.