Disgust at throne pose with Spacey at the Palace

ROYAL aides have been left reeling after a photo emerged of Ghislaine Maxwell and Kevin Spacey posing on thrones during a ‘private’ tour of Buckingham Palace organised by Prince Andrew.

Sources said there was palpable disbelief and disgust about the incident when they sat on one throne used by the Queen at her coronation in 1953 and a second later made for the Duke of Edinburgh.

The image shows Maxwell reclining and waving her hand in a regal fashion while actor Spacey smiles and waves as if he were a royal.

When details were first reported three years ago, officials dismissed them as ‘speculative’ and said Andrew had ‘no recollection’ of the incident.

There have long been rumours about the visit but the picture emerged last week after Maxwell was charged with allegedly helping paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to procure underage girls.

The thrones have enormous historical and emotional significance. One insider yesterday told the Mail it would be ‘unthinkable’ for a royal to pose for photographs on them, let alone members of the public, even those on a privately-organised tour.

A source said: ‘The lack of respect shown to Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh is simply astonishing.

‘There is nothing about this that is excusable in any way. It is a catastrophic error of judgment and one that, unfortunately, isn’t in isolation.’

‘ It simply shouldn’t have been allowed to happen.’

The insider said it was ‘ shocking although not entirely surprising’ that Andrew had treated the Queen’s official residence as his ‘ personal fiefdom’, allowing his friends relatively free rein. A second source described it as ‘another body blow’ to the Duke of York coming back from the Epstein scandal, regardless of the outcome of any legal proceedings.

‘Whether he knew the picture was being taken or not, the fact this was allowed to happen during a visit that he apparently facilitated is another example of his appalling judgment,’ said the insider.

The source said it was ‘unthinkable’ that the duke would ever appear on the Palace balcony with the rest of his family again.

The breach of protocol happened in 2002 during a private tour for former US President Bill Clinton.

He had been on a tour of Africa and afterwards flew on Epstein’s plane with Maxwell and Spacey.

The actor’s reputation was left in tatters in 2017 when he was accused of making sexual advances to young men before charges were dropped.

Their party had arrived in London but there was no record in the Court Circular of the Palace visit It is not thought Epstein was there. It is likely that the duke was present but was not photographed.

The Throne Room is normally only accessible through public tours or during state visits and official functions. It is an unspoken rule that nobody other than the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh sit on the chairs.

Yesterday there was no official reaction. The Palace and a spokesman for the duke both declined to comment.