Prince Andrew's Pizza Express Alibi Raises New Mystery After Police Refuse to Reveal If Guards Were There

The former Prince Andrew's Pizza Express alibi is back in the spotlight after the Metropolitan Police refused to say whether royal protection officers accompanied him on the day he claimed to have visited a Pizza Express restaurant in Woking.

The force would neither confirm nor deny whether armed officers were with the former Duke of York on 10 March 2001. Instead, it said it does not comment on security arrangements involving members of the Royal Family.

The police response has raised a new question. If protection officers travelled with Andrew that day, they could potentially have provided an independent record of the journey at the centre of his long-running alibi.

The Metropolitan Police has not confirmed whether officers were present. It has also not said whether any records relating to the visit exist.

Why the Police Won't Answer

The Metropolitan Police said it follows a longstanding policy of neither confirming nor denying protective security arrangements.

That means the force will not say whether officers accompanied Andrew, even though the question has become a fresh focus of public interest.

Senior members of the Royal Family are often accompanied by protection officers during official duties and, in some cases, private engagements. If officers travelled with Andrew that day, routine security procedures could potentially have documented parts of the journey.

However, there is no evidence that such records exist. The police have not confirmed whether officers were deployed, and they have declined to comment further.

Pizza Express Couldn't Verify the Story

The latest questions follow reports that Pizza Express carried out its own internal review after Andrew's 2019 BBC Newsnight interview.

The company examined available records and contacted former employees in an effort to establish whether Andrew had visited the Woking branch with his daughter, Princess Beatrice.

According to the reports, investigators searched for anything that could support the Duke's account, including staff recollections and business records. The review found no evidence confirming the visit, but it also uncovered nothing that disproved his claim.

That meant Pizza Express could neither verify nor dismiss Andrew's version of events. Years later, the visit remains unconfirmed.

Why the Woking Trip Still Matters

Andrew relied on the Pizza Express visit during his Newsnight interview to deny allegations made by Virginia Giuffre. She alleged she met him in London on the same day in March 2001 and was sexually assaulted. Andrew has always denied the allegations.

The interview became one of the most talked-about royal broadcasts in recent history. His explanation that he had been at Pizza Express in Woking, along with his claim that he could not sweat because of a medical condition, attracted widespread attention and criticism.

In 2022, Andrew reached an out-of-court settlement in Giuffre's civil lawsuit without admitting liability. The settlement ended the legal case but did not end public interest in the claims made during the interview.

More than seven years on, the Pizza Express alibi continues to attract attention whenever new information emerges. The latest police response has added another unanswered question to a story that has been examined repeatedly over the years.

Neither Pizza Express nor the Metropolitan Police has been able to settle whether the Woking visit can be independently verified. With police refusing to discuss protection arrangements and no evidence confirming the restaurant visit, one of the most closely scrutinised parts of Andrew's defence remains unresolved.