The family of the late Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, have celebrated his title of ‘prince’ being stripped from him as a victory which is “unprecedented in history”.
“This normal girl from a normal family has taken down a prince. We are so proud of her,” Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, told BBC Newsnight through tears.
But Mr Roberts told the BBC removing his title was “not enough” and called for an investigation into Andrew, adding that he “needs to be behind bars”. Andrew has denied all claims against him.
Giuffre took her own life earlier this year. The publication of her posthumous memoirs this month intensified pressure on the Royal Family over Andrew’s friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday that King Charles III had initiated a formal process to “remove the style, titles and honours” of Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Asked how Giuffre might have responded to that decision, her brother said: “She is celebrating from the heavens now saying ‘I did it’.”
“She’d be so proud. He’s just Andrew.”
In her memoir, Giuffre – a prominent accuser of Jeffrey Epstein – alleged Andrew had sex with her three times as a teenager and that he “believed that having sex with me was his birthright.”
Andrew, who has denied the allegations, reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre in 2022 which contained no admission of liability or apology.
“It truly is a moment for her and all survivors,” Giuffre’s sister-in-law Amanda Roberts said.
“Everything she fought for was not in vain,” she added, noting that she “broke down” when she heard the news at work.
While the pair celebrated what they described as a moment of “victory”, Giuffre’s brother also stressed it was “not enough”.
“We have to have some sort of investigation that goes further into this,” he said.
“[Andrew is] still walking around a free man. He needs to be behind bars.”
Earlier this month, Andrew voluntarily gave up several royal titles including the Duke of York, saying “we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family.”
The King’s decision to strip Andrew of his title of ‘prince’ follows the emergence this month of emails from 2011 that showed Andrew had maintained contact with Epstein, despite claiming otherwise.
Giuffre’s family also addressed the implications of the King’s decision for the US, where calls have grown for the release of documents related to Epstein. Partial records have been released that named Andrew as a passenger on a flight with Epstein.
“The US government hold the key to the larger scope of the Jeffrey Epstein case,” Mr Roberts said.
“The UK is setting an example for what the US should be doing right now.”
“There’s many more of them, I promise you.”
