Prince Andrew secretly told Jeffrey Epstein they would 'play some more soon' - ONE DAY after the Mail on Sunday published photo of him with teenage sex victim Virginia Giuffre
Prince Andrew secretly told paedophile Jeffrey Epstein 'we are in this together' a day after The Mail on Sunday first published the infamous picture of the Duke with his alleged teenage sex victim, a bombshell email reveals.
In the astonishing message, Andrew said he was 'concerned' about the impact this newspaper's revelations would have on his friend, but reassured the vile billionaire that the pair would 'rise above' press scrutiny.
It was sent to Epstein 12 weeks after Andrew had supposedly ceased all contact with the convicted sex offender.
The leaked email provides definitive proof that the Duke lied in his interview with BBC's Newsnight when he claimed he 'never had any contact' with Epstein after the pair were famously pictured walking together in New York's Central Park in December 2010.
The revelation comes just weeks after the MoS exposed how the Duchess of York wrote Epstein a gushing message calling him her 'supreme friend' – despite telling journalists she would never have anything to do with him again.
The hugely embarrassing email will heap further pressure on the Royal Family to sever all ties with the disgraced Yorks and raise fresh questions about their future at Royal Lodge, a 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park.
Writing to Epstein on February 28, 2011 – the day after the MoS published the now infamous picture of him with a teenage Virginia Giuffre that led to his downfall – Andrew said: 'I'm just as concerned for you! Don't worry about me!
'It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it.
'Otherwise keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon!!!!'
Andrew signed off with: 'A, HRH The Duke of York, KG'.
KG refers to Duke's 'Knight of the Garter' – a prestigious position he has held since 2006 and which he still retains.
The MoS has verified the email address used by Andrew, while Epstein's email address has repeatedly appeared in court documents. Prince Andrew last night declined to comment.
Historian A N Wilson said Prince Andrew's behaviour is a 'major crisis for the Monarchy…perhaps the gravest since the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936.'
Writing in today's Mail on Sunday, he added: 'The King and the Prince of Wales cannot be seen to support or underwrite Andrew any more.
'His very existence as an official Royal is a scandal. So they must cast him out, for if they show him mercy, they are themselves implicated, and we are only a hair's breadth away from a republic.'
The Duke sent Epstein the supportive message as the pair were reeling from the MoS publishing its world exclusive picture of Andrew with his arm around the naked waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre at the London home of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.
Ms Giuffre, who had never before been identified, told this newspaper she had been sexually abused by Epstein for four years and that she was introduced to Prince Andrew during a six-week trip to Europe.
Recalling how they drank tea at Maxwell's mews house before going dancing at Tramp nightclub in Mayfair, Ms Giuffre said: 'Ghislaine served tea from a porcelain pot and biscuits. She knew Sarah Ferguson and they talked fondly about Andrew's daughters.
'Then Ghislaine asked Andrew how old he thought I was and he guessed 17 and they all laughed.
'Ghislaine made a joke that I was getting too old for Jeffrey. She said, "He'll soon have to trade her in."
Ms Giuffre later alleged that having trafficked her to London, Epstein forced her to have sex with Andrew, which the Duke has vehemently and consistently denied.
In his disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019, Andrew suggested the picture with Ms Giuffre was a crude forgery, saying: 'Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored but I don't recollect that photograph ever being taken.'
But in 2023 an investigation by this newspaper provided incontrovertible proof that the photograph is genuine.
And crucially, it can now be shown that the Duke did not question its authenticity in his shocking email to Epstein on the day after its existence was revealed.
In 2022, the Duke reached a reported £12 million civil settlement with Ms Giuffre – who committed suicide earlier this year – with no admission of guilt.
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