Prince Andrew's ex claims this photo is fake. Photo / Supplied
Prince Andrew has repeatedly maintained that he never met Virginia Giuffre - and his former girlfriend has speculated the photo of them together is fake.
Lady Victoria Hervey posted a series of Instagram stories debunking the photo, which is considered damning evidence by some that the disgraced royal was involved in sex trafficking incidents with Jeffrey Epstein.
Hervey dated Andrew in 1999, and previously claimed she was used as "bait" by both Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.
The Daily Beast reports Hervey shared the photo showing Giuffre by herself in the photo, and shared why, in her opinion, the photo is fake.
"Do you believe that photo is real? Or what if I told you a survivor of Epstein's told me it's an Irish body double that was edited in," Hervey posted.
Using another photo of Giuffre on a yacht at Naomi Campbell's birthday party in 2001, Hervey implied the photo isn't real because she is wearing the same outfit and in an identical stance at both events.
In his notorious interview with the BBC's Newsnight, Andrew was outspoken about his belief that the photo wasn't real, and he doubled down on this stance recently, court documents show.
He told Newsnight: "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 ... Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored but I don't recollect that photograph ever being taken."
But Giuffre has insisted the photo is real.
She told Panorama: "It's a real photo. I've given it to the FBI for their investigation and it's an authentic photo. There's a date on the back of it from when it was printed."
A source commented in the Daily Beast report about how the photo may impact Andrew's legal strategy - with the insider claiming it could be deemed "irrelevant" without the original photo being presented as evidence. It is unknown whether the original photo exists.
Earlier this month, Hervey said she was used as "bait" to find girls for sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The 44-year-old socialite told a new TV documentary that she met Maxwell and Epstein 20 years ago when she was "really young and naive".
She said the pair were a "double act" like "Batman and Robin".
"Jeffrey was really the frontman and Ghislaine was the accomplice ... I don't think Jeffrey could have done any of it without Ghislaine."
Doco presenter Ranvir Singh asked: "And Ghislaine was crucial to getting those girls, was she, do you think to those dinners?"
Andrew will now face Giuffre n a US court later this year. He was also stripped of his royal title and honorary military titles by the Queen.
His ex told UK chat show host Lorraine that Maxwell herself was one of Epstein's victims.
"She is a scapegoat right now, so unfortunately for her, she is being taken down for what he has done as well. Some might argue is not quite as fair as it could be," she said.
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