Former Prince Andrew’s ex-girlfriend makes wild claim about photo of him kneeling over woman in Epstein files

The shadow cast by the late, infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein continues to darken the doorstep of the former Prince Andrew, as a newly released trove of documents from the Department of Justice sends shockwaves through the public consciousness. Amidst three million pages of eerie correspondence, haunting images, and incriminating videos, one particular photograph has ignited a firestorm of scrutiny: an image of the disgraced royal on his hands and knees, leaning over a woman lying motionless on the floor.

While the world remains fixated on the optics of this unsettling scene, a former partner of the former Duke has stepped forward with an explanation that many are finding as baffling as the image itself.

A Fall from Grace and the Weight of the DOJ Files

The association between Andrew and Epstein has been a matter of public record for years, but the depth of their rapport—and the persistence of their contact following Epstein’s conviction—only recently became clear to the masses. The fallout has been nothing short of historic. Following relentless public and institutional pressure, the Royal Family took the decisive step of stripping Andrew of his “Prince” title in late 2025. In a subsequent move, Andrew confirmed he would no longer style himself as the “Duke of York.”

Legal troubles for the former royal escalated further in early February of this year, when he was arrested in connection to his conduct during his tenure as a trade envoy. For many observers, these developments felt like the inevitable catching up of past deeds. Thus, it came as little surprise when Andrew’s name featured prominently in the DOJ’s massive document dump.

The photograph in question—showing Andrew positioned over a woman on the ground—has garnered significant attention, particularly given the memory of his disastrous 2019 BBC Newsnight interview. While the specific context of the image is not officially confirmed and there is no explicit suggestion of criminal wrongdoing in this instance, the imagery alone has proven difficult for the public to digest. For his part, Andrew maintains a blanket denial of all allegations regarding Epstein and claims total ignorance of the financier’s predatory network.

The “Emergency Training” Defense

While the court of public opinion appears increasingly skeptical of these denials, Lady Victoria Hervey, who briefly dated Andrew in 1999 following his divorce from Sarah Ferguson, has emerged as an unexpected shield.

In a recent appearance on Dan Wootton’s Outspoken podcast, the 49-year-old socialite offered a startling interpretation of the controversial photo. Hervey suggested that the former prince wasn’t engaged in anything untoward, but was instead participating in a medical drill.

“I messaged Leah, who’s Ghislaine [Maxwell]’s lawyer, and Ghislaine is a trained emergency medical technician,” Hervey told the podcast. When Wootton pressed her, asking if she truly believed the former prince was simply “learning to give someone CPR,” Hervey doubled down, stating, “Yeah, it’s part of the course.”

Hervey further alleged that the woman in the photo was an “overage” assistant of Epstein’s. This is not the first time Hervey has defended the former royal; in 2019, she told Good Morning Britain that Andrew’s willingness to sit for the Newsnight interview was proof of his innocence, arguing he would never have gone on television if he were guilty.

“Power and Losers”

Hervey’s defense of the Epstein circle often takes a provocative turn. In a previous interview with LBC, she suggested that inclusion in the Epstein files was actually a barometer for social and political relevance.

“Epstein knew everybody who was very powerful,” she remarked. “If you were on the scene and you were powerful… if you’re not in those files, it would be an insult because it just means that you were a bit of a loser.”

As the DOJ files continue to be picked apart by investigators and the press alike, the “CPR training” explanation stands as one of the more surreal chapters in a saga that shows no signs of concluding.