Photo of Andrew lying at Sandringham in new Epstein files

A photo of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lying on women’s laps is among thousands of Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice.

In the image, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell looms in the background, smiling at the former prince. The photo appears to have been taken in the drawing room at Sandringham, the royal estate in Norfolk.

The emergence of the photo will increase scrutiny on Mountbatten-Windsor after he was stripped of his remaining titles and honors over his links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing.

Two of the photographs also show Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, in the company of women whose faces are covered by black squares.

Representatives for Ferguson declined to comment.

The simple fact of appearing in photographs or documents is not proof of irregularities.

The heavily redacted tranche of some of the so-called Epstein files, the long-awaited documents related to the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigations into Epstein, were released late Friday.

The documents were highly anticipated after Congress passed a law mandating that the files be made public in their entirety by Dec. 19.

They contain photographs of the interiors of Epstein’s homes, his trips abroad and celebrities such as US President Bill Clinton, Mountbatten-Windsor and Michael Jackson. President Donald Trump was barely mentioned in the files.

Many of those identified in other statements, including President Trump, have denied wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

In the undated photograph of Andrew, the former prince, now 65, appears much younger. He is smiling with his eyes closed.

The faces of those accompanying him, who are sitting in front of a large fireplace, have been drawn with black squares. The photo appears to be at Sandringham, King Charles’s private estate in Norfolk.

In another image, she appears to be at Royal Ascot with Epstein and Maxwell.

Also among the files are undated photographs of Maxwell standing outside the door to 10 Downing Street.

In the image she is alone and no context was given with the photo as to why she is there or when the image was taken.

The issue of Andrew’s friendship with Epstein has continued to dog the royals.

The King stripped his younger brother of his title as prince after weeks of intense pressure over his links to the pedophile financier.

He is also expected to soon move out of his Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge.

It came after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as he is now known, renounced his other royal titles, including Duke of York, following further questions and accusations about his private life.

Earlier this year, emails showed that she had remained in contact with Epstein for longer than she had previously admitted.

In a posthumous memoir published in October, Virginia Giuffre, a prominent Epstein accuser, repeated allegations that, as a teenager, she had sexual relations with Andrew on three separate occasions. Andrew has always strongly denied the claims.

Andrew has also faced calls from Democratic members of Congress to testify before a committee investigating Epstein’s activities. He had not responded to the request by the deadline last month.

Separately, two photographs of Mrs Ferguson, then Duchess of York, have appeared in the document dump.

One shows her standing on a sidewalk next to an unidentified woman holding a shopping bag. In the other, she is sitting cross-legged on a green couch.

Ferguson also faced her own controversy with Epstein earlier this year, after a 2011 email revealed she called him her “supreme friend.”

Several charities dropped the then-Duchess of York as a patron or ambassador after the emergence of that email, in which she also appeared to apologize for her public criticism of him.

Democrats have criticized the extensive redactions for violating the transparency law.

But the White House says the Trump administration is “the most transparent in history,” while the Justice Department says it “has erred in drafting to protect victims.”