Prince Andrew’s legal team tried to hire internet trolls to hassle me, Virginia Giuffre claims in bombshell memoir
Virginia Giuffre has claimed Prince Andrew’s legal team tried to hire internet trolls to target her after she claimed the royal “raped and battered” her, in her bombshell memoir.
In his book published after his death Nobody’s DaughterSet to air on Tuesday, Giuffre claimed Andrew and his team tried to “cast doubt on my credibility” after speaking out about allegations of abuse at the hands of pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and his then-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.
The latest revelations come after the Metropolitan Police said it was “actively” investigating claims that Andrew gave his date of birth and social security number to his guard in order to dig up dirt for a smear campaign.
Andrew, who has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing, reached a financial settlement with Giuffre in 2022. He gave up using the title Duke of York on Friday, but pressure is mounting on the royal family to support a move to formally remove Andrew from the dukedom through parliamentary legislation.
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The book details three separate occasions in which Giuffre, who died by suicide this year at the age of 41, said she had sex with Andrew. He wrote that the first incident took place at Maxwell’s home in London in March 2001, and that the infamous photo of the couple was taken by Epstein as a souvenir for his mother at his request.
In her memoir, Giuffre describes the difficulties she and her legal team faced in bringing the civil sexual assault lawsuit, which was launched in August 2001, in which she wrote that she “alleged that Prince Andrew raped and assaulted me when I was a minor, causing me serious and permanent damage.”
He claimed that Andrew’s legal team did not respond to a letter stating that proceedings would be brought, and that when proceedings were initiated, the documents could not be served on him because “Queen Elizabeth had fled to Balmoral Castle in Scotland and hid behind the well-guarded gates of that castle.”
But the case moved forward, he wrote, after a US judge accused Andrew of playing “hide and seek” and Giuffre’s legal team took a “break” after a witness said she saw Giuffre and Andrew together at the Tramp nightclub in London.
But in her memoir, Giuffre claimed Andrew’s legal team tried to recruit internet trolls to target her online.
“After casting doubt on my credibility for so long – Prince Andrew’s team went so far as to recruit internet trolls to harass me – the Duke of York also owes me a meaningful apology,” he wrote.
Andrew’s legal team reached an out-of-court settlement reportedly worth millions, acknowledging that he “never intended to disparage Giuffre’s character” and that she “suffered both as a victim of harassment and as a result of unfair public attacks.”
In the book, Giuffre accused Andrew of being “entitled, as if he believed it was his birthright to have sex with me.” He said he was paid $15,000 for serving the man the magazine dubbed ‘Randy Andy’.
Giuffre also spoke about how the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, amid unsubstantiated allegations of royal family involvement, frightened her.
She said that she “didn’t want to have sex with the prince but felt compelled to do so”, that she believed there was no way to free herself from the clutches of Epstein and Maxwell, and that she knew she “had to make Epstein and Maxwell happy”.
She claimed that she and Andrew had sex again a month later at Epstein’s home in New York and then again on Epstein’s private Caribbean island, where they were involved in an orgy with about eight other girls.
Reflecting on her legal battles with Epstein and Andrew, she wrote in her memoirs: “I have no regrets, but the constant telling and retelling has been extremely painful and exhausting. With this book, I am trying to free myself from my past.”
Titles and honors that Andrew will no longer use include his wedding day titles – Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh, his knighthood as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) and his role as Garter as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
An Act of Parliament would be required to officially strip him of the title, but Charles is believed to see the largely symbolic move as a waste of parliamentary time, and the government has said it will be guided by the royal family’s views.
Buckingham Palace and Prince Andrew have been approached for comment.
Rape Crisis offers support to those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them in England and Wales on 0808 802 9999, in Scotland on 0808 801 0302 and in Northern Ireland on 0800 0246 991 or visit their website at: www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you’re in the US, you can call Rainn at 800-656-HOPE (4673).
