The disgraced socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has claimed in a prison interview that a photograph of Prince Andrew with his sexual abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre is "fake".
The decades-old photo shows 17-year-old Ms Giuffre standing beside the prince with Maxwell in the background and was purported to have been taken at her London town house in the upmarket Belgravia neighbourhood.
Maxwell is in a Florida penitentiary after her conviction and 20-year sentence for helping the late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse girls.
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell told her to do for Prince Andrew what she had for Epstein, and that after the photo was taken she went dancing with a “sweaty” Andrew.
Now 39, Ms Giuffre sued the discredited royal in a US court, claiming they had sex in London when she was 17 and a minor under US law.
He settled the sexual assault lawsuit at considerable cost last year, sparing him the public humiliation of a trial. He was stripped of his military titles amid public outrage over the reported $16.3 million settlement, which is said to have been paid by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
In spite of first-hand witness accounts, Prince Andrew has not been criminally charged and continues to deny the accusations.
But in her interview with TalkTV, set to air in the UK on Monday evening, Maxwell, who has known the prince for decades, is adamant the image is not genuine.
"It's a fake," she states. "I don't believe it's real for a second, in fact I'm sure it's not.
"There's never been an original and further there is no photograph. I've only ever seen a photo-copy of it."
In an embarrassing BBC interview in 2019, Prince Andrew also questioned the photo's authenticity.
"I don't believe that photograph was taken in the way that has been suggested," he said.
"It's a photograph of a photograph of a photograph ... nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored."
Maxwell, 60, was moved to FCI Tallahassee, a low-security prison in Florida’s capital in July, from the Brooklyn jail where she had spent the past two years under close watch after Epstein took his own life in jail in August 2019, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said.
She appealed her conviction and 20-year sentence in July.
Ghislaine Maxwell's sentencing - in pictures
Agencies contributed to this report
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Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
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THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
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Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
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