Annette Witheridge is the brilliant British journalist behind the infamous snap of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein. She reveals what happened on that historic day
The British journalist behind the infamous photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein together in New York is calling on Royal Protection officers who were with the former prince to speak out. Recalling the moment that exposed their relationship, back in December 2010, Annette Witheridge tells The Mirror: “I was there. I saw them leave Epstein’s New York home together and walk together to Central Park, where the picture was taken.
“If we hadn’t got that picture, there would have been no Epstein/Andrew connection, because Andrew would have carried on denying it and we couldn’t have proved it. Now it is literally THE picture. History was made. It was the start of a whole house of cards [coming down] that led to where we are now with Andrew. But I must admit when we snapped the pair, I didn’t know the magnitude at the time.”
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Now Annette, who covered a host of massive stories for The Mirror and The Sunday Mirror during her 24 years in New York, is now calling on the police who were protecting Andrew to speak out. She says: “Those officers… they should be talking now. I often wonder why they’re not saying anything. Why have they never spoken to the authorities? I hope that they do now. They could fill in lots and lots of gaps.”
Annette was working with photographer Jae Donnelly – whose picture sparked a series of events that led to Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight interview – and, following a tip off that he was in New York, had tracked the former prince down to Epstein’s home near Central Park. She says: “I thought, ‘He [Andrew] wouldn’t be stupid enough to stay at Epstein’s, but on his road was an undercover NYPD van. Then, as soon as I heard British accents speaking into walkie talkies, I knew I’d got him.
“At 11.20am, Woody Allen and his wife went into the house. I thought it was an old person and his carer at first. Now we know they’d been in for bagels. By 1pm, I was sitting right outside the house, we couldn’t hide, we were in plain sight. I’d got the window open slightly and heard the guys with British accents, the Royal Protection Squad. They said, ‘what happens if he goes walkabout?’ The answer was lost on the wind.
“But a minute or two later, the front door opened and whoosh, there was Andrew and Epstein. Andrew was much greyer than I thought he would be.” As Annette and Jae pursued them in the car, she recalls saying: “Oh my god, it’s him.” She continues: “We got to the corner of 5th Avenue. They went right, which was against the heavy Christmas traffic. Jae ran out and got ahead of them into Central Park and got the snap. They returned to Epstein’s home 20 minutes later. Little did I know how important that picture was going to be.”
In July 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. He was found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City while awaiting trial. The New York City medical examiner officially ruled his death a suicide by hanging. His close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, 64, is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy, following her conviction in 2021 for her role in procuring and grooming teenage girls for Epstein.
As a result of growing concern over his association with Epstein, and allegations of sexual assault made by the late Virginia Giuffre, Andrew was stripped of his royal title and evicted from his Royal Lodge home in Windsor. Earlier this month, in an unprecedented move, Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Now Annette is urging the officers she saw outside Epstein’s house to speak out. She says: “Andrew’s people knew we were out there, so did Epstein’s. I understand the Royal Protection Squad and why they didn’t say anything to Andrew. These guys, these seasoned police officers, you think they’ve seen it all. But there were so many girls who were of a grey area when it comes to age going in and out of the house.
“Perhaps the officers had daughters of the same age, and were absolutely disgusted by what they had seen. They were staying there as well, you couldn’t avoid seeing those girls going in and out. It was every hour, every two hours, they weren’t wearing any makeup, big puffer jackets and hoods and hats. We looked at them and thought why are they here and what are they doing? And those officers must have thought the same. At the time I assumed they were told to keep quiet.”
Meanwhile, THAT picture continues to shape history. Annette says: “The picture prompted Virginia Roberts [later Giuffre], to talk. And so the whole thing began to unravel. Watching it in real time is really like, this is history in the making here.” Ms Guiffre alleged she was trafficked by Epstein to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor when she was 17, which he has always strenuously denied. She died by suicide in April 2025.
But the scandal continues to haunt the former royal, especially since the release of millions of documents from the Epstein files in January – including, images, videos, and emails detailing the activities of the disgraced American financier. Annette, who now lives in Islington, north London, is even mentioned in them. She says: “I was laughing to myself because a lot of it is basically me doing my job, going round to the girls, all the women that he had facilitated, and dropping notes through their doors when they weren’t in.
“There were a load of emails and one said, ‘if that Annette Witheridge person knocks on my door one more time…’ After Virgina Roberts spoke out, I sent a legal letter to Ghislaine Maxwell’s people, saying they had a day to comment. It was forwarded to Ghislaine’s person, then to Ghislaine, then to Epstein, and ultimately to Andrew. He said, ‘I can’t take any more of this’. And to think, that was only the beginning.”
Annette met Ghislaine once many years ago, while working for The Mirror on its pop column. She says: “Robert Maxwell, her father, owned The Mirror then, and Ghislaine used to swan into our office. She didn’t speak to me because I was too lowly, but she would demand that pop columnist John Blake got her really hard to get hold of concert tickets. She demanded a meeting with Mick Jagger, which he managed to arrange.
“She was a horrible human being even then. She went out to the New York office and did the same out there, demanding tickets to Broadway shows. Then her father died and she somewhat had her tail between her legs. But then she met Epstein, who was able to give her what she wanted. But what price did she pay? There are some times, and this sounds terrible, but I feel sorry for her. She is the only person that has taken the wrap.
“But then I think ‘you know what, she was an older woman, she picked on young girls. They trusted her, she was like a big sister to them and she abused them.” Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested and released under investigation. He has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
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