In South Africa, we have grown accustomed to our politicians and leaders lying in the face of facts.

Given that there are usually zero legal repercussions for doing so, I guess we’re partly to blame.

Over in the UK, the Royal Family is having a torrid time of it, and Prince Andrew in particular, and the public’s patience with the prince seems to be wearing thin.

Yesterday, the woman who accused the Duke of York of having sex with her multiple times while she was underage, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, said that Andrew knows what he’s done and that he should come clean.

Whilst Prince Andrew has denied any wrongdoing, he is still haunted by one photo in particular, taken in 2001 at the house of Ghislaine Maxwell, which shows him with Roberts Giuffre.

You know the one:

Up until this point, the veracity of the photo has never been questioned, but it’s now being reported that Andrew’s closest supporters are trying to discredit the photo as a fake.

This from the Telegraph:

Sources close to Prince Andrew launched an extraordinary fightback against claims that he had sex with Virginia Roberts [below] by suggesting he had been the victim of digital trickery.

“The picture is a fake, and the girl’s story is a fantasy,” a source told the Telegraph…a source close to the Duke pointed out various “inconsistencies” in a notorious picture apparently taken in 2001 showing him with his arm wrapped around Ms Roberts’ waist. His legal team have requested to see the original image but have been rebuffed by Ms Roberts’ attorneys, the source added.

“Yes, the Duke knows what he has done – absolutely nothing wrong,” the friend said.

“Look at the picture. It has clearly been faked. Andrew’s fingers appear quite slender, like a girl’s fingers. They are also a strange shade of red.

“His real fingers are actually much chubbier – quite small and chubby.

“A tabloid newspaper paid a lot of money years ago for a copy of this photo. But no one has ever seen the original. Doesn’t that seem strange?

“Sadly – it seems to us – this girl is simply out to make a name for herself.”

Well, this seems straight out of the Trump playbook.

The Duke is also questioning his height in the photo, believing that he is far taller than Roberts Giuffre, which isn’t reflected in their side-by-side.

The source pointed to a picture of Ms Roberts standing next to the model Naomi Campbell, and more recent images showing her alongside other alleged Epstein victims.

“Compare the picture against the others. The Prince is 1.83m tall, while Ms Roberts seems to be of below average height.

“She certainly appears to be much shorter than Naomi Campbell, who is apparently 1.77m tall.

“So it’s strange that she and the Duke appear to be of similar height in the alleged photo. That doesn’t make a lot of sense,” the source said.

Ms Roberts appears to be wearing the same outfit in both photographs, the source added. “It’s an identical pink top. Odd, don’t you think?”

Not as odd as hanging out at the house of a convicted sex offender immediately after he was released from prison, and being filmed peeking out the door as very young-looking women exited.

It’s also reported that Prince Andrew says he has no recollection of having ever met Roberts Giuffre. Her claims of having had sex multiple times with Prince Andrew were struck from the court record in 2015, with the judge calling them “immaterial and impertinent”.

With the pressure mounting, and increased scrutiny on his relationship with Epstein, these sudden attempts to discredit the infamous photo smack of desperation.

[source:telegraph]