Virginia Giuffre's family reacts to Prince Andrew's titles being stripped
Virginia Giuffre accused Andrew of sexual assault, allegations he has always deniedThe family of the late Virginia Giuffre has spoken out following the latest announcement about Prince Andrew.
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Thursday that King Charles has “initiated a formal process” to remove all of Andrew’s royal titles.
For many years, Andrew has faced scrutiny over his association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has also been accused of sexual assault by Ms Giuffre, allegations he has always vehemently denied.
Earlier this month, Andrew announced he would stop using his Duke of York title.
However, he will now lose all of his royal titles, including “prince”, being known simply as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. He will also vacate his 30-room Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge.
Buckingham Palace issues statement on Prince Andrew
The new statement from the palace reads: “His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.
“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”
It closes with the words: “Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
As reported by ITV, it’s understood that although Andrew denies all the allegations against him, Buckingham Palace considers that there have been “serious lapses of judgment”.
Andrew will move to a property on the Sandringham Estate, according to reports.
Ms Giuffre’s family reacts to Andrew news
In a statement, the family of Ms Giuffre, who took her own life in April, celebrated the announcement about Andrew.
Ms Giuffre alleged she was made to have sex with the prince when she was 17 in the early 2000s, after being trafficked by Epstein.
Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince.
“Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage,” they said.
“Virginia Roberts Giuffre, our sister, a child when she was sexually assaulted by Andrew, never stopped fighting for accountability for what had happened to her and countless other survivors like her. Today, she declares a victory. We, her family, along with her survivor sisters, continue Virginia’s battle and will not rest until the same accountability applies to all of her abusers and abetters, connected to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.”
‘It’s not enough’
Appearing on BBC Newsnight, Ms Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, thanked King Charles for his statement. In particular, he emphasised the statement’s closing words of “thoughts and utmost sympathies” with “victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse”.
“But it’s not enough, it’s not enough, we have to have some sort of investigation that goes further into this,” he added.
“He’s still walking around a free man. I commend the king. I think he’s doing an amazing job as a world leader, setting a precedent, but we need to take it one more step further. He [Andrew] needs to be behind bars, period.”
Ms Giuffre had sued Andrew in a US civil case in 2021, accusing him of sexual assault. They reached at out-of-court settlement in February 2022 for an undisclosed sum.
The royal repeated that the settlement did not mean any liability or admission of guilt. Andrew has always vehemently denied the accusations against him.
Read more: Where Prince Andrew gets his money from ‘explained’ and does he have a job?
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