5 Revelations About Prince Andrew From Virginia Giuffre’s BBC Interview

Prince Andrew faces fresh embarrassment after his accuser Virginia Giuffre told the BBC she was left feeling "ashamed" after she was allegedly trafficked as a teenager to have sex with him.

In her first UK broadcast interview, the now 35-year-old woman told Panorama during the hourlong programme how she was trafficked by the late convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein when she was 17, on the instructions of Epstein's girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, in 2001.

Giuffre said in 2015 that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew in London, New York and on Jeffrey Epstein's private island in the Caribbean between 1999 and 2002, when she says Epstein kept her as a "sex slave".

The interview comes on the heels of the Duke of York's bombshell interview on BBC Newsnight with Emily Maitlis two weeks ago, where he was questioned about his long-term friendship with a convicted sex offender. The same topic was explored on Channel 4's investigation The Prince And The Paedophile.

Panorama also unearthed never-before-seen photographs of the duke socialising with Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein at Royal Ascot in 2000.

Prince Andrew, 59, has consistently denied the allegations, stating "categorically" that he never had any sexual contact with Ms Giuffre. In his BBC interview he said he had "no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever."

Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in August while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges. Virginia Giuffre, who was then known by her maiden name Virginia Roberts, is one of five of the many accusers of Jeffrey Epstein who claim Prince Andrew was a witness, and has called upon the British public to "help her fight this fight, to not accept this as being okay."

She added: "This is not some sordid sex story. This is a story of being trafficked. This is a story of abuse and this is a story of your guy's royalty."

These are five things we learned from Virginia Giuffre's first UK television interview...

1. The infamous photograph and the conspiracy theories that go with it

Virginia Giuffre told Panorama that the photograph of her with Prince Andrew's arm around her when she was 17 is real. She explained she had given the original photograph to the FBI in 2001 and accused Epstein and Prince Andrew's inner circle of making excuses. She said: "I think the world is getting sick of these ridiculous excuses. 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."

She added: "The people on the inside are going to keep coming up with these ridiculous excuses, like his arm was elongated or the photo was doctored. I mean, I'm calling BS on this. He knows what happened, I know what happened. And there's only one of us telling the truth."

Prince Andrew has vehemently denied that he had any sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Giuffre, adding that any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation. "It's very difficult to be able to prove it but I don't remember that photograph being taken...That's me but whether that's my hand...I have simply no recollection of the photograph ever being taken."

He also stated that he thought he had never been upstairs in his friend Ghislaine Maxwell's house, where the photo appears to have been taken.

2. How she first worked for Trump, met Jeffrey Epstein and then Andrew

Virginia Giuffre was 17 when she first met Jeffrey Epstein. She said she was working at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida when she was approached by Ghislaine Maxwell to train as a massage therapist. She said: "They seemed like nice people so I trusted them."

Giuffre told the couple during her job interview that she had had a difficult time because she had been a runaway and was abused as a child. "It was the worst thing I could have told them because now they knew how vulnerable I was."

When she was asked about the accuracies of her story, Giuffre told Panorama: "You are left with a foggy memory sometimes, you really are. I might be wrong on dates absolutely and I might be wrong on places even, sometimes. But one thing that I can tell you is you never forget the face of someone who has heaved over you."

Virginia Giuffre reiterates very specific details about the night she claims to have spent time with Prince Andrew at Tramp nightclub in London. She describes the first time she was introduced to the duke when Jeffrey Epstein brought her to London in 2001. She said the three of them plus Epstein's girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell went to the Mayfair club that night.

Giuffre describes Andrew as "the most ridiculous dancer I have ever seen in my life," adding that he sweated all over her in the nightclub: "His sweat was like it was raining basically everywhere. I was just grossed out from it but I knew I had to keep him happy because that's what Jeffrey and Ghislaine would have expected from me."

Prince Andrew disputed Virginia's description, claiming that he had a medical condition that stopped him from sweating. In his Newsnight interview, he told Maitlis: "There's a slight problem with the sweating because I have a peculiar medical condition which is that I don't sweat or I didn't sweat at the time."

On the night she first met the duke in London in 2001, Virginia Giuffre claims she was instructed by Ghislaine Maxwell to have sex with the prince. Giuffre said that when they left the club, Maxwell gave her instructions: "In the car, Ghislaine tells me that I have to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey, and that just made me sick."

Giuffre added that later that night when they got back to Maxwell's house in Belgravia, she had sex with Prince Andrew. "There was a bath, and it started there and then led into the bedroom.

"It didn't last very long, the whole entire procedure. It was disgusting. He wasn't mean or anything but he got up and he said 'Thanks' and walked out.

"I just sat there in bed, just horrified and ashamed and felt dirty. I had to get up and have a shower."

But the next day, she claims Ghislaine praised her. She told Panorama: "The next day, Ghislaine tells me I did a really good job. She pats me on the back and said, 'You made him really happy'."

Andrew has denied that he ever had sexual contact with Virginia Giuffre. When he was asked whether it could have been a different night, he said: "It didn't happen."

He also claimed he can't have been at Tramp nightclub on that day because he was at a birthday party with his daughter Princess Beatrice, who he took to a Pizza Express in Woking.

Prince Andrew told BBC's Newsnight that he had "no recollection of ever meeting" Virginia Giuffre.

However, Panorama claimed that the duke emailed Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015 writing: "Let me know when we can talk. Got some specific questions to ask you about Virginia Roberts."

Maxwell reportedly replied: "Have some info. Call me when you have a moment."

Fresh information about Ghislaine Maxwell's involvement was revealed by another victim of Jeffrey Epstein, Sarah Ransome.

She told Panorama: "Ghislaine controlled the girls. She was like the madam. She was like the nuts and bolts of the sex trafficking operation and she would always visit Jeffrey on the island to make sure the girls were doing what they were supposed to be doing.

"She knew what Jeffrey liked. She worked and helped maintain Jeffrey's standard by intimidation, by intimidating the girls, so this was very much a joint effort."

Ghislaine Maxwell couldn't be reached for comment by BBC Panorama but has previously denied any involvement in or knowledge of Epstein's abuse.

Prince Andrew declined to comment on the Panorama programme but in a statement, the palace said: "The Duke of York unequivocally regrets his ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein’s suicide left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims.

"The Duke deeply sympathises with those affected who want some form of closure. It is his hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives. The Duke is willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.

"The Duke has already stated that he did not see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest and conviction. He deplores the exploitation of any human being and would not condone, participate in, or encourage any such behaviour."

On allegations made by Giuffre, they said: "It is emphatically denied that The Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation."