'The photograph of Prince Andrew with his hands around Virginia Roberts’ waist has long been seen as key to establishing the truth in this sordid saga.
Both sides view it as a key piece of evidence. To Miss Roberts, the March 2001 image proved beyond doubt that her claims of intimacy are true; others have suggested an equally dark secret which could prove the prince is telling the truth.
On the night it was taken, Miss Roberts , then 17, said she went on to have sex with Andrew after being brought to Britain by his billionaire friend and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
She maintains it was snapped in society hostess Ghislaine Maxwell‘s central London mews house after a night out in Mayfair. However, the prince, who has always denied having sex with her, insisted that he had ‘no recollection’ of meeting her or posing for the photo.
He also echoed previously unnamed royal sources who have queried the photo’s veracity, even hinting that the hand around her waist may not be his. He suggested he would never have hugged anyone in public and raised questions about his own attire.
The Duke told interviewer Emily Maitlis: ‘I have absolutely no memory of that photograph ever being taken. 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.'
Read more: The photograph that WON'T go away: Anatomy of the infamous image of Prince Andrew with Jeffrey Epstein's teenage 'sex slave'... that Duke of York insists he 'can't recall being taken'
