DEPRAVED Jeffrey Epstein, his alleged pimp Ghislaine Maxwell and disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein grin at Princess Beatrice’s Windsor Castle party.

The astonishing image, obtained exclusively by The Sun on Sunday, shows how the trio were invited into the seat of royal power by Prince Andrew.

6 The evil trio are seen smiling in an astonishing image taken at Windsor Castle

6 Prince Andrew invited the monsters to Princess Beatrice's 18th birthday party Credit: Camera Press

As they mingled with royalty at Beatrice’s 18th, police had already prepared an arrest warrant for Epstein on child sex abuse charges and raided his Florida mansion.

Eight days after the billionaire posed in a US Navy Seal uniform for this snap he was in cuffs.

Tuxedo-wearing Weinstein is due in court next month accused of a sex offence in 2006 – the same year this photo was taken.

Maxwell, seen in a gold mask and red headdress, is now being investigated by the FBI on suspicion of procuring girls for Epstein.

A source told The Sun on Sunday: “This photograph sums up just why the Epstein affair has been so disastrous for Andrew.

“He brought these people into the royal fold, to Windsor Castle no less, where they could rub shoulders with the great and good.

“It is an astounding lack of judgment at the very least.

“This picture will raise further questions about Andrew’s interaction with these individuals.”

We first revealed in September how Epstein, Weinstein and Maxwell had joined Andrew at Windsor Castle to celebrate Beatrice’s coming-of-age.

Now we can reveal the full details behind the disturbing photograph, taken at the £400,000 ball in Berkshire on July 15, 2006.

6 Epstein was already being investigated by police at the time of the party Credit: Jae Donnelly

Around 400 guests turned up in mainly Victorian dress for the party’s 1888 theme marking 100 years before Beatrice was born.

The trio were pictured on a patio, next to a wicker sofa, in front of the lush Windsor grounds. It is an identical backdrop to official photos of the event showing Andrew, ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and sister Eugenie.

The ball continued the Queen’s tradition of giving her grandchildren a party to mark their entry into adulthood, though she and Prince Philip did not attend.

Royals at the bash included Peter and Zara Phillips and Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex.

Celebrities included Demi Moore and then-husband Ashton Kutcher, Pixie Geldof, Kelly Osbourne and Sir David Frost.

Guests guzzled 400 bottles of champagne and ate 4,000 canapes while listening to the Royal Philharmonic and watching burlesque troupe Circo Rum Ba Ba.

About 250 guests were invited to a three-course dinner. A further 150 arrived for canapes and champagne at 10pm.

Beatrice wore a £10,000 blue taffeta gown created by Sarah Ferguson’s British designer friend Georgina Chapman. She was the future wife of Weinstein.

Ms Chapman, 43, divorced Weinstein following the #MeToo scandal, when dozens of women claimed he sexually abused or harassed them.

The Oscar-winning producer, 67, will go on trial in New York on January 6.



FRIENDS FOR YEARS

He and Epstein are believed to have been friends for years.

By May 2006, Palm Beach Police Department in Florida had prepared a warrant for Epstein’s arrest.

They had been investigating him since March 2005, when the stepmother of a 14-year-old girl complained that he had sexually abused her.

Back then, five teenage girls told how they would give him massages in their underwear for cash at his Palm Beach home – which Andrew visited at least four times.

Epstein was arrested on July 23, 2006. He was controversially charged with only one count of solicitation of prostitution.

In his Newsnight interview last month, Andrew, 59, claimed he had no idea of the probe into Epstein at the time of the Windsor Castle birthday bash.

Jack Scarola, 72, a lawyer for Epstein’s victims, told The Sun on Sunday: “There was a fairly extensive investigation under way by then.

"It is absolutely certain that at the time of the Windsor Castle gathering, Jeffrey Epstein was aware an investigation was going on – a search warrant had been executed on his home.

“I will leave it to others to judge whether it goes to the heart of concerns about the conduct of Prince Andrew.”

Epstein managed to cut a deal with prosecutors and served just 13 months in jail.

6 Virginia Giuffre - formerly Roberts - claims she was forced to sleep with Prince Andrew when she was 17 Credit: Rex Features

The monster, 66, was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell last August shortly after being arrested for a second time.

He was suspected of abusing girls as young as 14 in a sex ­trafficking ring.

FBI prosecutors are said to be pursuing alleged co-conspirators accused of enabling his abuse, including his ex-lover Maxwell, 57.

The socialite and daughter of disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell is suspected of procuring young girls for Epstein and even taking part in sexual abuse.

She is in hiding and has denied all claims of wrongdoing.

One of the girls she allegedly recruited for Epstein was Virginia Giuffre, formerly Roberts, who says she was kept as a sex slave.

Ms Giuffre, now 36, has claimed she slept with Prince Andrew three times as a teenager — recounting sexual encounters in London, New York and the Caribbean.

Her allegations of sex with Andrew were aired on BBC’s Panorama on Monday.

Following the interview Buckingham Palace reiterated Andrew’s denials of any sexual contact with Ms Giuffre.

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The Palace added: “The Duke has already stated that he did not see, witness or suspect any ­behaviour of the sort that led to Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest and ­conviction.”

Andrew has claimed a 2001 picture of him and Ms Giuffre at Maxwell’s London home was faked.

Mr Scarola, who represents Ms Giuffre, added: “We want Prince Andrew to give evidence under oath and tell us all he knew about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.”

6 Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein are believed to have been friends for years Credit: Getty Images - Getty

6 Prince Andrew has stayed in touch with Maxwell but denies any wrongdoing Credit: AP:Associated Press

Virginia Giuffre made the allegations on a BBC Panorama interview Credit: BBC

Prince Andrew rocked by new bombshell claim as second Epstein victim says she had sex with him too