First photo surface of ex-prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson together with Jeffrey Epstein in newly released DOJ files

A photograph showing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew, Duke of York) and Peter Mandelson sitting with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has surfaced in documents released by the US Department of Justice. The image is believed to be the first known photograph showing the three men together. It appears to show them seated around a wooden table with mugs bearing the US flag in front of them. The documents do not specify the date or location of the photograph. However, the BBC reported that the picture was likely taken in Martha’s Vineyard in the United States and is believed to date from between 1999 and 2000, before Epstein was sentenced to prison and registered as a sex offender. The image was found in a large set of files released by the Justice Department earlier this year. The material includes around three million pages of records, as well as thousands of photographs and videos that have been made public. ## What the image shows The photograph shows Prince Andrew and Mandelson sitting at a wooden deck table with Epstein. The exact circumstances of the meeting are not detailed in the files. The image appears similar to another photograph linked to Epstein’s “birthday book”, which was created for his 50th birthday in 2003. Emails reviewed by the BBC appear to show Mandelson discussing the location of a photo with Epstein’s assistant. In a message dated July 2013, Mandelson wrote: “I think it was Martha’s, the first time I met Jeffrey.” ## Investigations and responses Andrew has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. He previously said he first met Epstein in 1999 through Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate. A civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre accused the prince of having sex with her when she was a teenager. The case was settled in 2022 without an admission of liability. Mandelson has also said he believes he has not committed any criminal offence. According to reports, he has argued that he accepted Epstein’s account of events at the time and only understood the full details after Epstein’s death in 2019. Epstein died in a prison in New York City in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting and trafficking teenage girls for Epstein. (With inputs from AP and BBC )