New allegations against Prince Andrew by Virginia Giuffre in her memoirs are of “very serious and grave concern”, a Buckingham Palace source says.
Ms Giuffre alleged, which Andrew vehemently denies, that she was forced to have sex with the prince three times, including when she was 17, after being trafficked by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
She also claimed the King’s brother considered it his “birth right” to sleep with her and that she feared she might “die a sex slave” at the hands of Epstein’s circle.
The source said the new allegations were of “very serious and grave concern” and “should be examined in the proper and fullest ways”. According to Sky News, the royal family felt action was needed because of “what lies at the heart of this, the broader allegations and the issues highlighted”.
Prince Andrew gave up using all his titles and honours on Friday as it became clear fresh claims were about to be revealed.
Ms Giuffre’s autobiography has 88 references to him across 400 pages.
Andrew paid her a sum – reported to be as much as £12m – to settle a civil sexual assault case, despite claiming never to have met her.
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Key Points
- Royals face further embarrassment as Virginia Giuffre’s memoir to go on sale
- Andrew 'hired internet trolls' to harass accuser, memoir claims
- Pressure on parliament to act on removing Andrew's titles
- Recap: What has happened since Friday?
- Government to be ‘guided’ by royal family on any moves to strip Andrew of titles
SNP puts forward Bill to strip Andrew of dukedom
04:30
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Jane Dalton
Legislation to remove Prince Andrew's dukedom must be put forward without "any further excuses and any further delay", the Scottish National Party says.
The SNP is putting forward a motion to pressure Sir Keir Starmer's government to strip Andrew of the title, which would require an Act of Parliament.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP's Westminster leader, said that "power and privilege" had protected those in the Epstein scandal for far too long and that the legislation to remove the title must be brought forward.
Mr Flynn has submitted an early day motion (EDM) that allows MPs to express an opinion, publicise a cause or support a position. It is rare for them to be debated.
Andrew relinquished his Duke of York title last week but officially continues to hold his dukedom.
Last month the SNP lodged a similar motion to pressure the government to remove Lord Peter Mandelson's peerage. The former UK ambassador to the US was sacked because of his own ties with paedophile financier Epstein.
The SNP's proposed Bill would remove both Prince Andrew's dukedom and Lord Mandelson's peerage.
Prince Andrew tried to hire internet trolls to harass me, Giuffre writes in her memoir
04:01
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Maroosha Muzaffar
Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir “Nobody’s Girl” accuses Prince Andrew’s team of trying to hire internet trolls to harass her and of hiding at Balmoral Castle to avoid being served court papers before their 2022 settlement.
She says the deal, reportedly worth $12m – brought her not just money but an acknowledgment of her suffering and a pledge that Andrew would not malign her again.
“After casting doubt on my credibility for so long – Prince Andrew’s team had even gone so far as to try to hire internet trolls to hassle me – the Duke of York owed me a meaningful apology as well,” she wrote in her memoir.
“We would never get a confession, of course. That’s what settlements are designed to avoid. But we were trying for the next best thing: a general acknowledgment of what I’d been through.”
Prince Andrew has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
We must know how Andrew can be evicted, says ex-minister
03:35
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Jane Dalton
All the major revelations in Giuffre memoir
02:27
,
Jane Dalton
Law stripped royal descendants of titles in 1919
01:10
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Jane Dalton
Legislation has been used before to strip titles, including descendants of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who supported the German side in the First World War.
The Titles Deprivation Act 1917 was used two years later to strip the titles from Leopold Charles, Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow; Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, Earl of Armagh; Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick, Prince of Great Britain and Ireland; and Henry, Viscount Taaffe of Corren and Baron of Ballymote.
The law remains in force but as it refers specifically to the First World War, its provisions are unlikely to be relevant today.
The government has indicated that it would not introduce any legislation to strip Andrew of his titles unless the King wanted to.
Giuffre's family call on police to resume investigations and watchdog to step in
Tuesday 21 October 2025 00:02
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Jane Dalton
Virginia Giuffre’s brother and sister-in-law have called on the police watchdog to review the decision by the Metropolitan Police to drop its investigations into her allegations against Prince Andrew.
Sky and Amanda Roberts told Channel 4 News that Ms Giuffre had been "gaslit" by the police and authorities, which was a "kick in the stomach" for her.
They have called for the Met to reopen their investigation into Ms Giuffre's claim she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17, an allegation he vehemently denies.
And they said that if the London force would not take action, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) should review the decision.
Mr Roberts told podcast The Fourcast that his sister continually asked: "What is it going to take for people to finally believe me?"
Mr Roberts' wife, Amanda, said that in the US the issue had been elevated from the Department of Justice to the House of Representatives and added: "So every branch of government needs to take this seriously."
The IOPC would not comment on the case.
The Metropolitan Police said that following legal advice, it was clear that any investigation into human trafficking would be largely focused on activities and relationships outside the UK.
"Officers therefore concluded that the Met was not the appropriate authority to conduct inquiries in these circumstances and, in November 2016, a decision was made that this matter would not proceed to a full criminal investigation.
"That decision was reviewed in August 2019.
"In November 2019, the Met confirmed that it would remain unchanged."
Timeline of Andrew’s scandals
Monday 20 October 2025 23:11
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Jane Dalton
King visits terror attack synagogue
Monday 20 October 2025 22:10
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Jane Dalton
Andrew ‘met China spymaster at least three times’
Monday 20 October 2025 21:10
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Jane Dalton
In case you missed it: Prince Andrew met a senior Beijing official at the heart of the China spy scandal at least three times, it was reported last week.
We tried for next best thing to confession, Giuffre said
Monday 20 October 2025 20:15
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Jane Dalton
Virginia Giuffre wrote in her autobiography how Andrew hid behind "the well-guarded gates" of Balmoral Castle, making it difficult for her lawyers to serve him with papers.
She also said of her legal settlement: "After casting doubt on my credibility for so long - Prince Andrew's team had even gone so far as to try to hire internet trolls to hassle me - the Duke of York owed me a meaningful apology as well."
Ms Giuffre added: "We would never get a confession, of course. That's what settlements are designed to avoid. But we were trying for the next best thing: a general acknowledgment of what I'd been through."
Andrew paid millions to Ms Giuffre to settle a civil sexual assault case in 2022, despite claiming never to have met her.
Andrew rightly guessed Giuffre was under age
Monday 20 October 2025 19:33
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Jane Dalton
Andrew correctly guessed Virginia Giuffre’s age at 17 when they first met, she wrote in her memoir, Nobody’s Girl.
She said that in 2001 Ghislaine Maxwell, later a convicted sex trafficker, bought her an Burberry purse and three different outfits including "two sexy, sophisticated dresses" to wear for the meeting in Maxwell's London flat.
Ms Giuffre said there was "a third option that I'd lobbied for: a pink V-necked, sleeveless mini T-shirt and a sparkly, multicoloured pair of jeans embroidered with a pattern of interlocking horses".
"After I showered and dried my hair, I put on the jeans and top, which left a strip of my stomach exposed. Maxwell wasn't thrilled, but like most teenage girls then, I idolised Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and the third outfit was something I imagined the two of them might wear. I told Maxwell it felt more like 'me'," she added.
Maxwell, who "was more coquettish than usual", asked the then-duke to guess Ms Giuffre's age, and Andrew, then 41, guessed correctly at 17, Ms Giuffre wrote.
She said she was paid $15,000 for "serving the man the tabloids called 'Randy Andy’".
How could parliament strip Andrew's titles?
Monday 20 October 2025 18:00
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Athena Stavrou
Andrew relinquished his use of the Duke of York title amid the long-running fallout of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and the publication of Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoirs.
The titles and honours Andrew will no longer use include his wedding day titles – Duke of York, the Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh, his knighthood as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) and his Garter role as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
However, formally stripping him of the title would require an Act of Parliament.
Legislation has been used before to strip titles, notably descendants of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who were on the German side in the First World War.
The Titles Deprivation Act 1917 was used two years later to strip the titles from Leopold Charles, Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow; Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, Earl of Armagh; Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick, Prince of Great Britain and Ireland; and Henry, Viscount Taaffe of Corren and Baron of Ballymote.
The law remains in force but as it refers specifically to the First World War, its provisions are unlikely to be relevant today.
Comment: The questions MPs should ask about Prince Andrew and the rest of the royals
Monday 20 October 2025 17:40
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Athena Stavrou
MPs call for law to strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom
Monday 20 October 2025 17:18
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Athena Stavrou
The King and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are facing calls to introduce a law to strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom.
Formally stripping him of the title would require an Act of Parliament but Charles is believed to view 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.
But the Westminster leaders of the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru are among MPs calling for legislation.
The SNP’s Stephen Flynn said he would “not sit silent” while the family of Virginia Giuffre, and the British public, are “angry and aghast”.
Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville-Roberts said: “Public funds, police protection and royal privilege have long buffered Prince Andrew from the consequences of his actions. And we’ve paid for all this.
“I will support any efforts to hold royals to the same standards and laws as everyone else – Parliament must have the power to remove privileges from abusers of position.”
Virginia Giuffre wanted to use ‘Crown’s money’ to do good after Andrew payout
Monday 20 October 2025 16:56
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Athena Stavrou
Prince Andrew’s accuser Virginia Giuffre described looking forward to using the “Crown’s money to do some good” after receiving millions from the late Queen’s son in a settlement.
In her book Nobody’s Girl, which is being published on Tuesday amid growing pressure for Andrew to be officially stripped of his titles, Ms Giuffre wrote that, after receiving the money from the prince, she began developing her Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (Soar) foundation to combat human trafficking.
“I look forward to disseminating some of the Crown’s money to do some good,” she said.
She added: “Now that my settlement from Prince Andrew has come through, I have begun the slow process of turning my fledgling foundation, Soar, into a professionally run organisation.
“My goal is for Soar to combat human trafficking by supporting organisations that focus on prosecution, protection, and prevention.”
Virginia Giuffre: Nobody's Girl Memoir excerpts and book cover
Monday 20 October 2025 16:33
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Athena Stavrou
Trump asked Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre to babysit in first encounter at Mar-a-Lago, memoir says
Monday 20 October 2025 16:03
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Athena Stavrou
Donald Trump asked Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre if she could babysit during their first encounter at his Mar-a-Lago club, according to her posthumous memoir.
In a copy obtained by The Independent, Giuffre wrote that she was introduced to Trump by her father after she was hired as a locker room attendant in the summer of 2000. She said that within days of starting, her father, then a maintenance man at Mar-a-Lago, introduced her to Trump in his office.
“Trump couldn’t have been friendlier, telling me it was fantastic that I was there,” she wrote. “‘Do you like kids?’ he asked. ‘Do you babysit at all?’”
Read the full story:
New allegations of 'grave concern', palace source says
Monday 20 October 2025 15:43
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Athena Stavrou
A palace source has said the new allegations against Prince Andrew are of a “grave concern” and that they "should be examined in the proper and fullest ways".
According to Sky News, a source at Buckingham Palace said the royal family felt action needed to be taken because of "what lies at the heart of this, the broader allegations and the issues highlighted".
They added that the "new allegations that have been brought up" are of "very serious and grave concern" and "should be examined in the proper and fullest ways".
Downing Street: Prince Andrew title decision 'matter for the Palace'
Monday 20 October 2025 15:33
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Athena Stavrou
Downing Street would not be drawn on whether Parliament should pass legislation to strip Prince Andrew of his titles.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said the question of legislation was “a matter for the Palace in the first instance” and the ministers “support the judgment of the King” regarding Andrew’s titles.
He added: “The prime minister’s thoughts are very much with the victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein who suffered and continue to suffer.”
Opinion: Eugenie and Beatrice should cut Andrew out of their lives
Monday 20 October 2025 14:59
,
Jane Dalton
Andrew’s team tried to hire internet trolls to hassle me, Guiffre claims - full report
Monday 20 October 2025 14:53
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Jane Dalton
Royal website changed to remove Duke of York references
Monday 20 October 2025 14:44
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Jane Dalton
Three references to the Duke of York on the royal family’s website have been changed to read Prince Andrew instead.
A page about Andrew is no longer headed Duke of York, and the words “On 13 January 2022, Buckingham Palace announced that, with Queen Elizabeth II's approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages would be returned” has been altered to say Prince Andrew, not Duke of York.
Beatrice and Eugenie skip glittering weekend ball
Monday 20 October 2025 14:21
,
Jane Dalton
Prince Andrew’s daughters are reported to have pulled out of a weekend event at the British Museum attended by celebrities and members of the aristocracy, amid the furore.
Princess Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, reportedly had been scheduled to attend the Pink Ball, similar to the famous Met Gala event in New York every May.
Naomi Campbell, Janet Jackson and Diana, Princess of Wales' niece, Lady Kitty Spencer were all said to have been on the guest list, alongside the two Princesses.
There has been no official confirmation they had been due there.
Recap: Calls for King and Starmer to strip Andrew of dukedom
Monday 20 October 2025 13:53
,
Jane Dalton
The King and prime minister Sir Keir Starmer are facing calls to introduce a law to strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom.
Andrew relinquished his use of the Duke of York title amid the long-running fallout of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and the publication of Virginia Giuffre's posthumous memoirs.
Formally stripping him of the title would require an Act of Parliament but Charles is believed to view 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.
In pictures: King visits Manchester synagogue
Monday 20 October 2025 13:50
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Jane Dalton
King visits scene of Manchester synagogue attack
Monday 20 October 2025 12:58
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Athena Stavrou
Amid revelations about his brother, the King is continuing with his duties today.
Charles is visiting the scene of the Manchester synagogue attack, where two people were killed earlier this month.
Virginia Giuffre describes legal battle
Monday 20 October 2025 12:44
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Athena Stavrou
In her posthumous memoir, Virginia Giuffre wrote how he hid behind “the well-guarded gates” of Balmoral Castle, making it difficult for her lawyers to serve him with papers.
She said of her 2022 legal settlement with Andrew: “We would never get a confession, of course. That’s what settlements are designed to avoid. But we were trying for the next best thing: a general acknowledgment of what I’d been through.”
Ms Giuffre described how she took part in two days of mediation, and her lawyer read the duke’s agreed settlement statement at 2.30am Florida time “through tears, both hers and mine”.
Watch: Rachael Maskell explains why she thinks Andrew should lose his titles
Monday 20 October 2025 12:38
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Athena Stavrou
Plaid Cymru backs efforts to strip Andrew of dukedom
Monday 20 October 2025 12:27
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Athena Stavrou
Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said she would back any legislation to strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom.
She said: “Public funds, police protection and royal privilege have long buffered Prince Andrew from the consequences of his actions. And we’ve paid for all this.
“I will support any efforts to hold royals to the same standards and laws as everyone else – Parliament must have the power to remove privileges from abusers of position.”
Giuffre ‘amazed’ Andrew was 'stupid enough' to meet Epstein in public after conviction
Monday 20 October 2025 12:18
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Athena Stavrou
Virginia Giuffre has said she was “amazed” that a member of the royal family would be “stupid enough” to appear in public with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction.
Prince Andrew’s alleged victim described how she felt after seeing the picture published of the pair in New York in 2011.
“Seeing this new photo of Prince Andrew at Epstein’s side made ‘Randy Andy’ seem even more arrogant to me,” she wrote in her posthumous memoir.
Palace 'applied pressure' to ABC to not air Giuffre interview, memoir says
Monday 20 October 2025 12:02
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Athena Stavrou
ABC did not air an interview with Virginia Giuffre after the royals “applied pressure to nix the interview”, Giuffre has said in her memoir.
The late accuser of Prince Andrew wrote in her autobiography, due to be published tomorrow, that the broadcaster “feared losing access” to the now Prince and Princess of Wales had the 2015 interview aired.
She wrote: “Four years later, on November 5 2019, a video of Amy Robach speaking on a ‘hot mic’ was made public that shed a bit more light on what had happened.
“Robach said that ‘every day I get more and more pissed’ that her interview with me didn’t air and that ‘what we had was unreal’.
“In the recording, Robach said that she was told by higher-ups, ‘Who’s Jeffrey Epstein? No-one knows who that is. This is a stupid story’.
“She also said Epstein’s lawyers and the British royal family had applied pressure to nix the interview, suggesting that the network caved because it feared losing access to Prince William and Kate Middleton in the future.”
How could parliament strip Andrew of his titles?
Monday 20 October 2025 11:46
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Athena Stavrou
Although Prince Andrew voluntarily gave up his titles on Friday, it is up to parliament to formally strip him of his dukedom through legislation.
Parliamentary experts have said a process to strip Andrew of his titles could be done relatively quickly by a short piece of legislation.
The precedent for stripping royals of their titles was set by the royal 1917 Titles Deprivation Act, which stripped royal titles from those who supported Germany in the First World War.
Another option, put forward by Rachael Maskell, the MP for York Central, is for the monarch to be given the power to formally remove royal titles.
A number of MPs have called for parliament to use its powers to strip Andrew of his titles, but ministers have suggested it is “not a matter for government”.
Government 'must bring forward act to strip Andrew of titles, MP says
Monday 20 October 2025 11:32
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Athena Stavrou
There is “no justification” for the UK Government not to bring forward an Act of Parliament to strip Prince Andrew and Lord Mandelson of their titles, the SNP’s leader at Westminster has said.
Stephen Flynn said he would “not sit silent” while the family of Virginia Giuffre, and the British public, are “angry and aghast”.
It comes amid claims Prince Andrew had sought to obtain through his police protection staff the personal information of Ms Giuffre, who was trafficked by the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Lord Mandelson was sacked as US ambassador in September following revelations about his friendship with Epstein.
Mr Flynn said: “The family of Virginia Giuffre, whose life was destroyed, are angry and aghast.
“The public across these isles are angry and aghast and they both deserve to know that some MPs share their outrage.
“So I won’t sit silent. If an Act of Parliament is required to strip the likes of Peter Mandelson and Prince Andrew of their titles then there can be no justification from this Labour Government as to why that is not immediately happening.”
Where do things stand with Andrew and William?
Monday 20 October 2025 11:19
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Athena Stavrou
William is always understood to have wanted to take decisive action on the controversy surrounding Andrew and his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
He is now said to be planning a “more ruthless” approach towards his uncle, banning him from his future coronation and public events, according to the Sunday Times.
The newspaper claimed future king William is "not satisfied with the outcome", after Andrew gave up his titles.
The newspaper added that William will also ban Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, from royal events, but their daughters, his cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will still be welcome at family and official gatherings.
The King has already ruled that Andrew will no longer attend the Christmas Day service with the royal family - and the statement on Friday was viewed as a final banishment for the prince after the ongoing drip-feed of scandal over the years.
Giuffre's 'heartfelt wish' that book published in event of her death
Monday 20 October 2025 11:10
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Athena Stavrou
Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, wrote an email to her co-writer Amy Wallace at the start of that month shortly after being involved in a car crash that said it was her “heartfelt wish that this work be published, regardless of my circumstances at the time”, and that it was still to be released in the event of her death.
“The content of this book is crucial, as it aims to shed light on the systemic failures that allow the trafficking of vulnerable individuals across b