Prince Andrew's long-standing claim that he spent the evening of March 10, 2001, at a Pizza Express restaurant in Woking instead of meeting Virginia Giuffre has come under renewed scrutiny after reports revealed that the restaurant chain conducted an internal investigation but found no evidence confirming his account.
The reported inquiry, launched after Andrew's widely criticized 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, examined whether historical records or former employees could verify his claim that he attended a children's birthday party at the Surrey restaurant with his daughter, Princess Beatrice. According to the findings reported, the investigation was unable to establish that the visit took place. It also found no evidence disproving Andrew's version of events.
The development revives one of the most closely examined elements of Andrew's public defense against allegations made by Giuffre, who accused him of having sex with her in London in 2001 after she said she had been trafficked by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Andrew has consistently and categorically denied Giuffre's allegations and has never been criminally charged in connection with them.
The Pizza Express explanation became one of the defining moments of Andrew's televised interview with BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis in November 2019.
During that interview, Andrew said he could not have met Giuffre on the date she identified because he had spent the evening in Woking.
He later elaborated on how that account had been assembled, explaining that members of his staff had reviewed historical records before the interview.
"'I'd taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking,'" Andrew said. "'This has all been worked out by my staff, who've looked at the diary and everything else.'"
He also said Sarah Ferguson was believed to have been in the United States at the time, leaving him at home caring for his daughters.
According to reports, Pizza Express regarded Andrew's public claim as significant enough to warrant its own internal review shortly after the interview aired.
Executives reportedly searched for surviving business records from 2001 while also attempting to identify former managers and employees who may have worked at the Woking branch on the date in question.
The inquiry ultimately reached a limited conclusion.
No records confirming Andrew's visit were located, and attempts to identify witnesses who remembered seeing him proved unsuccessful. At the same time, investigators reportedly found no evidence demonstrating that he had not been at the restaurant.
One challenge facing the review was the passage of time.
The restaurant manager responsible for the Woking branch in 2001 had already left the company and could not be interviewed, while business records from that period were reportedly no longer available. As a result, the investigation was unable to verify either side of the question.
The renewed attention comes against the backdrop of the broader Epstein investigation and Giuffre's allegations.
Giuffre alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sexual encounters with Andrew on three occasions, including one when she was 17 years old. She said one alleged encounter occurred after dining in London and visiting a nightclub before traveling to Maxwell's Belgravia residence.
Andrew has repeatedly denied all allegations involving Giuffre.
The civil dispute between Andrew and Giuffre ended in 2022 with an out-of-court settlement that did not include an admission of liability by Andrew. The settlement resolved Giuffre's lawsuit without the claims being tested at trial.
Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025 at the age of 41.
Separate reporting has also examined whether official security records could help establish Andrew's whereabouts on March 10, 2001.
According to reports, the BBC submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Metropolitan Police seeking information about whether royal protection officers accompanied Andrew to Woking that evening.
The Metropolitan Police declined to confirm or deny whether such records existed, citing national security considerations and its longstanding policy regarding protective security arrangements.
