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Pic that rocked Royals goes missing: Virginia Roberts says she LOST infamous snap with Prince Andrew

The photograph was taken by late pedophile Epstein, with Ghislaine Maxwell standing right behind Andrew and Giuffre

Jeffrey Epstein's former sex slave Virginia Roberts Giuffre has reportedly "lost" the original print of the infamous photo of her and Prince Andrew, thereby granting his defense the opportunity to argue that the image was doctored.

A source close to Giuffre told the Daily Beast that the picture "is not in Virginia's possession." The photograph was reportedly taken by late pedophile Epstein. In the photograph, Ghislaine Maxwell can be seen standing right behind Andrew and Giuffre. Meanwhile, another insider said they weren't sure the original print "still existed." Giuffre said it was placed in one of a number of boxes shipped from her former Colorado home to Sydney, Australia, where she now lives with her husband.

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According to the Daily Beast, Andrew's legal team has not been provided the original copy since they requested it in November 2021. The notorious snap was taken in Maxwell's London home in March 2001 and shows a smiling Andrew with his arm around Giuffre's waist while Maxwell stands behind the pair in a doorway. A photograph of the infamous photo was captured by a professional photographer in 2011. The same copy has since been used in several reports, while the original appears to have been misplaced.

The picture, which has earned Giuffre around $160,000 in media fees, was previously examined by the FBI as potential evidence against Epstein. It was taken the same night the Duke of York, then 41, allegedly sexually assaulted a 17-year-old Giuffre for the first time. Andrew and his defense are contesting a civil case in New York brought on by Giuffre in August last year. She alleges the royal sexually assaulted her three times — something he has strongly denied. That said, the Duke's lawyers have roped in a photographic expert to study the original print if it can be accessed. Andrew has denied ever meeting Giuffre and claimed the photo may have been doctored. 

According to the Daily Beast, Giuffre's attorneys are unaware of the photo's whereabouts, and no one on her legal team has actually seen the original print. The "critical" piece of evidence is said to have been misplaced sometime between 2011 and 2016 when the alleged victim emigrated to Australia from Colorado. Speaking of the photo in 2016, Giuffre said that it could have been mislaid in moving boxes at her in-laws' home in Sydney as they were full of "nerf guns, kids' toys, photos." 

Andrew's attorneys have argued that there is no way to prove the image isn't doctored unless the hard copy original is presented. One of the sources was asked if it was odd that Giuffre had misplaced a picture that was of interest to a federal investigation, to which they responded saying, "Remember at the time that she was being interviewed by the FBI she was not suing anybody. She was not getting legal advice. She has now been through six or seven years of litigation and has lawyers advising her and I’m sure she would behave differently, but then she was just a young girl."

The source also said they don't believe failure to produce the original print will affect the admissibility of the photo. They said the case does not rest on the image, and that's why Giuffre's lawyer David Boies is "not worried" about producing the original. The image, which first surfaced in 2011, is one of the most popular pieces of apparent evidence against the Duke and has become synonymous with the accusations against him, his ongoing legal battle, as well as questions over his relationship with Epstein.