// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Portrait of George Mitchell will not be removed from Hillsborough Castle
A portrait of former US Senator George Mitchell on display at Hillsborough Castle, Northern Ireland's official residence of the Royal family, will remain in place as part of the castle's "important story" in the peace process.
The former US envoy played a key role in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, external, which ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland.
In 2026, a number of institutions had severed ties with George Mitchell over his links with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
It followed the release of millions of files relating to Epstein by the US Department of Justice, including further references to an earlier claim George Mitchell had sex with Epstein victim, Virginia Giuffre.
A bust of Mitchell was removed from Queen's University Belfast last year
Mitchell has previously said allegations contained in released documents are false, saying "I have never met, spoken with or had any contact with Ms. Giuffre."
As a result of the files, the US-Ireland Alliance said the George J Mitchell Scholarship Program would no longer bear his name.
Queen's University Belfast also removed a £35,000 bust from its grounds.
BBC News NI has been told there are no plans to move a portrait of Mitchell from Hillsborough Castle, which is also the UK's official residence of the Secretary of State.
It is on display in Lady Grey's study, a room open to the public for guided tours which features a number of figures from the Northern Ireland peace process.