Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre dies at 41
Virginia Giuffre has spoken out as a sex trafficking victim and settled her sexual assault lawsuit against Prince Andrew.
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Buckingham Palace confirmed on Friday that Prince Andrew would no longer use his royal title, three years after he was ousted as senior royal following allegations over his relationship with convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The former Duke of York continues to deny collaborating with the disgraced sex offender, but says he agrees that the controversy surrounding him is a distraction for the royal family.
In an October 17 statement shared by Buckingham Palace, Andrew said: “Following discussions with the King and my immediate family, I have come to the conclusion that continued accusations about me will interfere with the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family. As always, I have chosen to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by the decision I made five years ago to distance myself from public life.”
He added that King Charles III’s “agreement made us feel that we must go a step further. Therefore, I will no longer use my title or the honors bestowed on me. As I have said before, I strongly deny the charges against me.”
Andrew’s late mother, Queen Elizabeth, stripped him of his patronage and military connections in 2022, making him a royal persona non grata. The decision came after he settled a sexual abuse lawsuit brought against him by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who died by suicide in Australia earlier this year.
Since then, he has appeared in public only at family events, including his parents’ funerals and most recently last month’s funeral for Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Kent.
What are the charges against Prince Andrew?
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s second son found their royal relationship soured after Mr Giuffre claimed he had sexually trafficked Mr Andrew when they were teenagers. In 2015, she said Epstein forced her to have sex with Andrew three times around 2001.
In a 2019 interview with the BBC, she said Epstein introduced her to Andrew and his then-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell at a London nightclub, and that Giuffre was then forced to have sex with the royal at Maxwell’s home. Giuffre later claimed that Andrew sexually abused her a second time at Epstein’s New York mansion, and a third time on Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In February 2022, the sexual abuse lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed sum and a “significant donation” to Giuffre’s charity.
In the same year, Andrew told the same media: “I have no recollection of meeting this woman, I have no recollection of it at all.”
What is the relationship between Andrew and Epstein?
According to British media reports, Andrew and Epstein’s friendship spans decades, dating back to the 1990s.
Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of trafficking minors for sex with Epstein and is currently serving a 20-year sentence, is said to have introduced the pair when she was Epstein’s girlfriend and employee at the time, the Guardian reported.
As the accusations came to light, Andrew expressed regret over his former friendship with Epstein.
“Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein and admires the courage of Ms. Giuffre and the other survivors who stood up for themselves and others,” one 2022 document filed in a federal court in New York said. “He has pledged to show his regret for his association with Epstein by helping fight the evil of sex trafficking and supporting its victims.”
Contributor: Maria Puente, USA TODAY
