The uncropped version of a photo of Prince Andrew standing beside a teenager who claims she was forced to have sex with him features a mystery thumb in the bottom right corner.
The person who took the snap of the Duke of York, with his arm wrapped around the waist of Virginia Giuffre while now-convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell smiles behind them, has remained a mystery for 20 years.
The image is reported to have been taken in March 2001 in Maxwell's London home, and Prince Andrew claims that he does not remember it being taken or that he met Ms Giuffre, who was aged 17 at the time, that evening, as reported by The Mirror.
The identity of the photographer's thumb has never been revealed and remains unidentified.
The news comes as Andrew was said to have been "left in tears" when The Queen stripped him of his honorary military titles and royal patronages after a US judge ruled a civil case in New York against Andrew by his accuser Ms Giuffre can go ahead. Andrew denies any wrongdoing.
He was said to be utterly devastated by Her Majesty's bombshell decision.
It came just a fortnight after the Sunday People exclusively revealed the Queen would reluctantly strip her son of his prized roles if he did not resign.
A senior defence source said: “The Prince was tearful when told the news even though he had expected it. He feels that he has let so many people down, not least his mother, during her Platinum Jubilee year.”
Our insider said of the royal’s dramatic demotion: “He had hoped that he might get some sort of stay of execution and be allowed to clear his name before his titles were removed.
“There are a number of people in the royal household who are utterly convinced that he is innocent.
“But the clamour for Andrew’s scalp meant that a quick and brutal decision needed to be made.”
The move, announced in a shock Palace statement on Thursday, left Andrew exiled from official royal life and facing life as a private citizen.
He is also expected to cover his own legal costs for the civil case.
He was told he will no longer be able to use the title of His Royal Highness in any official capacity.
The move came after years of damaging speculation arising from Ms Giuffre’s claim she was forced to have sex with the duke three times when she was 17, including once in London.
Andrew’s plight worsened when his former friend Maxwell, 60, was found guilty of offences relating to her work as a fixer for the Duke's associate Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted paedophile and billionaire.
The Duke of York has always denied the allegations and tried to explain his links with Epstein by doing an interview with BBC Newsnight where he claimed he has no recollection of ever meeting Ms Giuffre.
She alleges that the photo was taken at Maxwell's house in Belgravia, Central London after a night out at Tramp nightclub in Mayfair.
She claims that she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions.
In a disastrous BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, the Duke denied those claims.
He insisted that an alleged encounter in 2001 did not happen because he spent the day with his daughter, Princess Beatrice, taking her to Pizza Express in Woking, Surrey.
A source close to Ms Giuffre’s legal team has now claimed she is determined to “ruin him” because of his “arrogant” behaviour.
“No one can believe how badly Andrew and his legal team have messed up. His arrogance is what has destroyed him,” they said.
“It is Virginia's firm belief that Andrew should go to jail for what he's done but in the end leaving him broke and destroyed may be enough. He is already destroyed.
“Now it's a matter of how much money he offers in a settlement and how broke we leave him.”
Andrew has not been arrested or charged in respect of any criminal offence and has always strenuously denied the claims.
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