Andrew's Woking Alibi
Internal Inquiry by Pizza Express Fails to Confirm Prince Andrew's Woking Visit Claim
Key Points
In the unbroadcast portion of Newsnight, Mountbatten-Windsor asserted, "I'd taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking," and added that "This has all been worked out by my staff, who've looked at the diary and everything else"—details that point to a claimed diary review by aides rather than published confirmation.
Virginia Giuffre’s account describes three alleged sexual encounters with Mountbatten-Windsor between 2001 and 2002 (she was 17), including an event on March 10, 2001 after dining in London, allegedly followed by dancing and sex at Ghislaine Maxwell’s Belgravia home.
Pizza Express’s 2019 internal inquiry looked for records and spoke to staff from the time, but the 2001 Woking manager had left the business by the time of the review, leaving investigators unable to confirm or deny the visit.
Newsnight’s own investigation found no records of anyone seeing Mountbatten-Windsor at the Woking restaurant on the night in question, contributing to the absence of corroborating evidence.
The renewed scrutiny surrounding the Woking visit occurred in the context of Mountbatten-Windsor’s February 2024 arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office and his subsequent removal of royal titles by King Charles.
Pizza Express launched an internal inquiry into whether former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor visited its Woking branch on the night of March 10, 2001 — a claim he made during his now-infamous Newsnight interview, according to Daily Star and Mirror. The chain found no evidence to confirm the visit.
The visit became central to Mountbatten-Windsor's alibi against Virginia Giuffre's allegations of sexual abuse. Giuffre, who was 17 at the time, says she was abused on that same night after dining in London, then dancing and sleeping with the former prince at Ghislaine Maxwell's Belgravia home.
What Pizza Express Found — and Didn't Find
Pizza Express senior management ordered the internal review in 2019, shortly after the Newsnight interview aired, according to Daily Star. Investigators looked for records and spoke to staff who worked at the Woking branch around that time.
There was one key problem. The manager who ran the Woking branch in 2001 had already left the company by the time the inquiry began. Without that person, investigators could not confirm or deny the visit. No records turned up. No staff member recalled seeing the former prince there.
Andrew's Own Words Made the Claim Stick
In an unbroadcast portion of the Newsnight interview, Mountbatten-Windsor said: "I'd taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking." He added that "this has all been worked out by my staff, who've looked at the diary and everything else," according to Express.
That specific detail — a staff diary review — drew immediate attention. It suggested aides had actively built the alibi. Yet no published diary entry or booking record has ever been produced to back it up. Newsnight's own investigation also found no one who saw him at the restaurant that night, according to Mirror.
Giuffre's Account of That Night in 2001
Virginia Giuffre says she had three sexual encounters with Mountbatten-Windsor between 2001 and 2002, when she was 17. The first, she alleges, took place on March 10, 2001. Her account describes dinner in London, dancing at a nightclub, and then sex at Ghislaine Maxwell's home in Belgravia.
Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He reached a financial settlement with Giuffre in 2022, but the settlement included no admission of guilt. The terms were not made fully public, according to Mediaite.
2024 Arrest Brings the Old Claims Back Into Focus
The Woking Pizza Express story resurfaced in early 2024 after Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, according to Head Topics. King Charles later stripped him of his remaining royal titles.
Together, those two events put fresh scrutiny on every prior claim Mountbatten-Windsor made in his own defense — including the Woking alibi. With the 2001 restaurant manager long gone and no records ever found, that alibi remains as unverifiable today as it was when he first made it.
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