Prince Andrew was pictured at Royal Ascot with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in June 2000

Miss Maxwell, who walks in between the prince and Epstein, is obscured by a woman walking in front of her

Their outing at Ascot was at a time when the prince has claimed he was seeing Epstein once or twice a year

It was during this time that Miss Maxwell and Epstein attended Windsor Castle for the prince's 40th birthday

Newly unearthed photographs show Prince Andrew's friends, millionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged pimp Ghislaine Maxwell at Ascot racecourse.

Epstein, dressed in a top hat and morning suit, has a grin across his face as he walks with Miss Maxwell and the Duke of York through the heart of the British establishment.

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Pictured in June 2000, Prince Andrew had been introduced to Epstein just months before by Miss Maxwell, then known for being the daughter of newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell.

Miss Maxwell, who walks in between the prince and Epstein, is obscured by the hat of the Honorable Caroline Neville, a former society girl and former flame of Andrew, who is walking in front of her.

Ms Neville, affectionately known as Cazzy, is the daughter of Lord Braybrooke and briefly dated Andrew in 1993.

She was at Royal Ascot with her husband Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby, whose family lives at Knowsley Hall near Liverpool.

It was during this time that Miss Maxwell and Epstein were to attend Windsor Castle, just a few miles from the racecourse, as guests of the prince for his birthday.

The Dance of the Decades, a lavish party hosted by the Queen, celebrated four royal birthdays, including Prince Andrew's 40th, the Princess Royal's 50th, the Queen Mother's 100th and Princess Margaret's 70th.

In Prince Andrew's interview with Newsnight last month he said Epstein was there at his invitation, not the Royal Family's. He added that the financier was Miss Maxwell's 'plus one.'

Prince Andrew, left, was pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell, centre, in a green jacket, Jeffrey Epstein, right, and the Duke's former girlfriend Caroline Neville, with whom he had a brief fling in 1993, wearing a pink suit at Royal Ascot in 2000

The Duke of York was seen with Ms Maxwell and Ms Neville a former high society IT girl who is the daughter of Lord Braybrooke, far right, and Ms Neville's husband Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby, far left, at Royal Ascot on June 22, 2000

The prince was photographed with Miss Maxwell at several other private functions in the UK and the US that year.

At the wedding of his former girlfriend Aurelia Cecil in Wiltshire in September 2000 and at a 'Hookers and Pimps' themed Halloween Party in Manhattan.

And finally, Miss Maxwell and Epstein were seen together at Sandringham in December of that year to attend what the prince has described as a 'straightforward shooting weekend.'

Early the following year, in the most infamous photo of all, the Duke of York was pictured with his arm around the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Roberts with Miss Maxwell stood in the background.

Ms Roberts, now known as Virginia Giuffre, told BBC's Panorama on Monday night that she was trafficked to London by Epstein and instructed to have sex with Prince Andrew, prior to the photo being taken in Miss Maxwell's Belgravia townhouse.

Ms Giuffre told Panorama: 'The people on the inside are going to keep coming up with these ridiculous excuses - like his arm was elongated or the photo was doctored, or he came to New York to break up with Jeffrey Epstein. I mean, come on, I'm calling BS on this, because that's what it is.'

Virginia Roberts (pictured with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell) says the prince had sex with her three times

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Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell on a 'straightforward shooting weekend' at Sandringham in December 2000

Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell at the wedding of his former girlfriend Aurelia Cecil in Wiltshire in September 2000

The 35-year-old said that after leaving Tramp nightclub with Prince Andrew: 'In the car Ghislaine tells me that I have to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey.

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'And that made me sick. I didn’t expect it from royalty. I didn’t expect it from someone that people look up to and admire - the Royal Family.'

She said: 'There was a bath and it started there and it led into the bedroom. It didn’t last very long the whole entire procedure. It was disgusting.

'He wasn’t mean or anything. But he got up and said thanks and walked out. And I sat there in bed just felt horrified and ashamed and and felt dirty.'

She added: 'I had just been abused by a member of the royal family.'

Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein in Manhattan in 2010. The duke quit his role as UK trade envoy the following year in the wake of the fallout from the Central Park photos

Virginia Roberts, pictured just days ago, is appearing on Panorama on Monday night

Andrew's attempts to defend himself against Ms Giuffre's accusations and explain his friendship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender, in a BBC Newsnight interview failed dramatically

The Duke of York emphatically denies any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Giuffre and says he has no recollection of meeting her.

Prince Andrew told Emily Maitlis previously: 'You can't prove whether or not that photograph is faked because it's a photograph of a photograph of a photograph.

'It's very difficult to be able to prove it but I don't remember that photograph being taken…That's me but whether that's my hand…I have simply no recollection of the photograph ever being taken.'

Andrew, 59, has categorically denied having sex with Ms Giuffre and apologised for his association with Epstein, who died in prison in August in what New York City officials said was a suicide.

The disgraced prince has stepped down from royal duties 'for the foreseeable future' because of his friendship with Epstein.

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The scandal is one of the worst to have gripped the royal household in recent decades and has severely tarnished the reputation of Andrew.