Prince Andrew, a member of the royal family of Britain, gave up his royal titles amid allegations of sex abuse related to Virginia Giuffre, a sexual abuse victim of the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In a statement from Prince Andrew, which was shared by Chris Ship, an ITV News royal editor, Prince Andrew explained that with King Charles III’s agreement, he would no longer be using his royal title or the honors that had been “conferred upon” him.
“In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family,” Prince Andrew’s statement said. “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.”
Prince Andrew continued to add that he was going “a step further” and would “no longer use” his title “or the honours which have been conferred” on me.
The New York Post reported that Prince Andrew’s statement giving up his royal titles comes as “new excerpts from a posthumous memoir by” Giuffre claim that “She was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew at the home of Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell:”
In excerpts of Giuffre’s memoir published by The Guardian Wednesday, she wrote that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew at the home of Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.
He acted, “entitled, as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright,” she wrote.
The book, “Nobody’s Girl,” details three times in which Giuffre alleges Prince Andrew had sex with her, including at Maxwell’s London home when she was 17 in 2001.
Prince Andrew will also reportedly “be allowed to live at his sprawling, 31-bedroom Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle,” and will also still retain “his title as Prince Andrew” due to Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8, 2022, being his mother, according to the outlet.
Family members of Giuffre — who died in April after taking her life, issued a statement describing Prince Andrew giving up his titles as being “vindication” for Virginia Giuffre and other survivors.
“We, the family of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, believe that Prince Andrew’s decision to give up his titles is vindication for our sister and survivors everywhere,” Giuffre’s family said in a statement provided to People. “This decisive action is a powerful step forward in our fight to bring Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s child-sex trafficking network to justice.”
Giuffre’s family members also suggested that King Charles III “remove the title of Prince.”
Breitbart News reported in November 2019 that in an interview with BBC News, Prince Andrew claimed he had “no recollection of ever meeting” Giuffre, who claimed that she had dinner and “danced with him at a club, and later had sex with him in Belgravia, central London.”
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