Prince Andrew's Ex-Girlfriend Defends The Duke, Says Infamous Picture with Virginia Giuffre, Ghislaine Maxwell Is Fake

The iconic photo of Prince Andrew with his accuser in Ghislaine Maxwell's home, according to his former lover, is a hoax.

During her brief relationship with the Duke of York in 1999, Lady Victoria Hervey posted a bizarre thought on Instagram, bringing fresh light to the prince's sexual assault charges.

Prince Andrew's ex-girlfriend questions Giuffre photo proof

Hervey tries to disprove the legitimacy of the photo of the prince with his arm around Virginia Giuffre's accuser in a series of posts. In the backdrop, Maxwell is standing. The photo was included in Giuffre's complaint against the Duke, stating that it was shot when she was 17 years old and forced to have intercourse with him for the first time.

After being trafficked by Maxwell and wealthy pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, she claims she was forced to have sex with him four times. Because Giuffre wore the same attire at an event in the south of France, Hervey claims in her Instagram story that the photograph of her with the prince could not have been shot at Maxwell's mansion in London.

Giuffre's photograph was then placed to a photo of the prince's body duplicate with his head edited onto it, according to her. In his official answer to Giuffre's lawsuit, issued last week, the Duke refuses to believe the image is authentic. On Newsnight, Prince Andrew stated that while he couldn't prove the photo was fake, he had reason to suspect it was, as per Independent.

Prince Andrew's legal answer to the complaint implies that he would "seek an expert's opinion" on the photo's legitimacy, according to US lawyer Rachel Fiset. Giuffre, 38, is suing Andrew, 61, for undisclosed damages, which, according to US attorneys, could potentially exceed $19 million if she prevails.

At Epstein's house in New York and the US Virgin Islands, the mother of three claims she was forced to have sex with the Prince at Epstein's home in New York and in the US Virgin Islands, according to Mirror.

Judge seeks statement from Prince Andrew's former assistant

After a formal request from a New York judge, Prince Andrew's former aide might deliver a sworn testimony as part of the civil sexual assault action against the duke. Robert Olney's evidence had been solicited by lawyers for Virginia Giuffre, Prince Andrew's accuser in the case.

Olney had previously worked as the prince's equerry for the prince. Olney's name and phone number were in Epstein's contacts book, according to Giuffre's attorneys, and the former assistant would be aware of Prince Andrew's relationship with him.

On Monday evening, US judge Lewis Kaplan released his letter to London's High Court, formally seeking aid in Giuffre's civil lawsuit. Because of the request, the British court must now determine whether or not to join Prince Andrew's case under the terms of an international legal treaty between cooperating courts.

Any evidence collected from Olney would be used in Giuffre's civil damages suit against the prince, according to Judge Kaplan's letter to Senior Master Elizbeth Fontaine, the officer in charge of handling requests for help from foreign courts.

Judge Kaplan said Olney, as Prince Andrew's former equerry, was likely to have "important knowledge" concerning the duke's relationship with Epstein and his travel to and from Epstein's homes.

Given that Prince Andrew says he has never met or sexually assaulted Ms. Giuffre, the court stated that if his motion is granted, Olney should be questioned about any conversations that include her. He has also asked for testimony from Shukri Walker, who claims to have seen Prince Andrew with a young lady who may or may not have been Giuffre at London's Tramps nightclub in March 2001, according to BBC News.