Her little black book was once crammed with the names of presidents, powerbrokers, movie stars and royalty. But none was more important than Prince Andrew.
Today, in an extraordinary interview from behind prison walls, Ghislaine Maxwell speaks for the first time about her ‘dear friend’, expressing heartfelt sadness at his own catastrophic fall from grace.
‘Yes, I follow what is happening to him,’ Maxwell confirms. ‘He is paying such a price for the association with Jeffrey Epstein. I care about him, and I feel so bad for him.’
It is rare for American prison authorities to authorise interviews – especially when the profile of the inmate is so high.
But I spoke to 60-year-old Maxwell face-to-face inside the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York during the summer, and again just a few weeks ago after she was moved to her current jail, Tallahassee’s Federal Correctional Institute.
This is where she will serve a 20-year sentence for her role in helping Epstein to abuse young women.
I ask her about one of the most notorious photographs in the world – one which has haunted Prince Andrew.
It shows the Prince with his hand around the waist of a then 17-year-old Virginia Roberts – now Giuffre – with Maxwell beaming to one side. The man behind the camera, clicking the shutter, is disgraced financier and paedophile Epstein.
