Epstein files contain new photo of former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince, has appeared in the first tranche of the so-called Epstein files — information held by the US government on late sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Thousands of files were released by the US Justice Department on Friday night (local time), just before the expiry of a Congress-mandated deadline.

One of the photographs included in the dump appears to show a smiling Mr Mountbatten-Windsor sprawled across the laps of five seated people, with his head near the legs of a woman.

Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell can be seen standing behind the seated group, also smiling and looking down at Mr Mountbatten-Windsor.

The undated image is a photograph of a picture in a frame, and it is not known where it was taken.

Only Mr Mountbatten-Windsor and Maxwell are identifiable, with the released image redacted to cover the faces of the other six people pictured.

The appearance of the former prince in the files is not unexpected.

He has come under intense scrutiny over his close friendship with Epstein, a billionaire who trafficked minors.

In October, King Charles stripped his younger brother of the title of prince and forced him out of his royal mansion amid renewed attention to sexual assault allegations levelled against Mr Mountbatten-Windsor by the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

Ms Roberts Giuffre alleged that, as a teenager, she was forced to have sex with the then-prince on a private island owned by Epstein.

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has strenuously rejected the allegations and claimed to have never met Ms Roberts Giuffre.

Despite his denials, he settled a civil lawsuit with her in 2022, and she received an undisclosed settlement.

The photograph released by the Justice Department as part of the Epstein files does not appear to shed any further light on allegations against the former royal.

Being pictured in the files does not imply wrongdoing, and most images have been released without context on the circumstances in which they were taken.

More documents to be released

The full extent of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor's inclusion in the Epstein files is not yet known because the full trove has not been released.

A bill backed by Congress last month required that all files be made public by the deadline.

But, just hours before the scheduled publication, US Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department was still redacting information from the files.

He said "several hundred thousand more" documents would be released "over the next couple of weeks".

The delay, and the fact some documents that have been released were heavily redacted, have led to accusations that the Justice Department has failed to comply with the order.

Other high-profile figures mentioned or pictured in the initial release included Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger.

Former prince summoned by Congress

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, was early last month summoned to appear before a US congressional panel investigating Epstein.

But he did not meet the November 20 deadline to respond.

The committee said it would investigate "allegations of abuse by Mountbatten-Windsor", and seek information on Epstein's operations, network and associates.

"Rich and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, former prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide justice for the survivors," congressman Robert Garcia said.

The Congress has powers to subpoena witnesses for questioning but its authority does not extend to foreign nationals — meaning Mr Mountbatten-Windsor cannot be compelled to appear.