A photograph showing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Peter Mandelson seated alongside convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has emerged from a vast archive of documents published by the United States Department of Justice — marking the first time all three men have been pictured together.
The image, believed to date from between 1999 and 2000, shows the trio at an outdoor wooden deck table, with American flag-patterned mugs visible in front of them. ITV News reported the photograph was taken at Martha’s Vineyard. No formal location or timestamp is included in the DOJ files themselves. The presence of individuals in the documents does not imply wrongdoing.
The picture forms part of a sweeping disclosure made public by the DOJ in January, comprising three million pages, 180,000 images, and approximately 2,000 videos. Journalists and members of the public continue to work through the material, with new discoveries still being made weeks after the initial release.
The timing of the photograph is significant. It is thought to predate Epstein’s 2008 conviction, after which he served 13 months in prison and was placed on the sex offenders register. Both Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Mandelson have stated separately that their associations with Epstein ended or changed substantially once his criminal conduct became known.
Emails reviewed by the BBC show Lord Mandelson and Epstein’s personal assistant, Lesley Groff, discussing where a separate photograph — one included in a birthday book compiled to mark Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003 — had been taken. In an email from July 2013, Lord Mandelson wrote that he believed the location was Martha’s Vineyard, describing it as the occasion he first met Epstein. The Daily Telegraph has reported that this exchange relates to the newly surfaced image.
Both men have faced serious legal and professional consequences in recent months. Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in mid-February in Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following a Thames Valley Police assessment of a complaint relating to the alleged passing of confidential information to Epstein during his time as a UK trade envoy, a role he held from 2001 to 2011. Lord Mandelson was arrested separately on the same suspicion, connected to allegations that he shared market-sensitive government information with Epstein while serving as a minister. The Metropolitan Police launched a formal investigation into those claims last month. Both men have since been released under investigation.
Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titles following the scandal. Lord Mandelson lost his position as UK Ambassador to the United States after supportive correspondence he sent to Epstein in 2008 — while Epstein was facing sex offence charges — was found within the DOJ files.
Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Lord Mandelson has indicated through those close to him that he does not believe he has acted criminally, and that he accepted Epstein’s account of events until the financier’s death in 2019.
HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
Both men remain under active investigation. Epstein died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His associate Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in recruiting and trafficking young girls for abuse by the financier.
