Virgina Giuffre’s posthumous memoir went on sale in London on Tuesday, as Prince Andrew faced a parliamentary motion in the House of Commons calling for him to be formally stripped of the titles he pledged to give up last week.
Most of the contents of the book pertaining to Andrew had already been reported, but in “Nobody’s Girl,” Giuffre describes three alleged sexual encounters with the prince — in London, New York, and on deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein’s private island.
The book had already hit number 1 on Amazon’s bestseller list online on Monday, on the strength of orders a day prior to launch.
How Giuffre’s Epstein book connects to Andrew
Giuffre, a teenage victim of US sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, took her own life in April.
She was probably best known for a lawsuit against the British royal, which Andrew settled out of court in 2022, accusing him of sexually abusing her.
Epstein’s relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of the late UK newspaper mogul Robert Maxwell, put him in close contact with many prominent members of British society. This was evidenced earlier this year by the abrupt resignation of the former UK Ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson.
Giuffre recounts details of her first alleged meeting with Andrew in London in March 2001, when she was 17, saying the prince correctly guessed her age and commented on her being about the same age as his children.
She wrote that Ghislaine Maxwell had told her that “just like Cinderella,” she would be meeting “a handsome prince” that day.
She alleged that Maxwell told her to “do for him what you do for Jeffrey” and said she was given $15,000 (roughly €13,000 at current exchange rates) soon after the encounter.
SNP files motion against Andrew, ‘peppercorn rent’ of estate comes into focus
The opposition Scottish National Party (SNP) put forward a so-called “Early Day Motion” in parliament on Tuesday, calling on the government to formally strip Andrew of the Duke of York title he pledged to renounce last week.
While it was not likely to pass — unless Labour MPs elect to support the opposition bill en masse — it shone a further spotlight on Andrew, as politicians of all stripes rushed to condemn his conduct and the allegations he faces.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle did the media rounds early Tuesday for the Labour government, calling on Andrew to cooperate fully with US and UK investigators, after complaints on this front from the FBI in the past.
“I think anybody that has any information that could bring justice and information to victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes should be fully engaging with any of the authorities that are seeking to deliver that information and justice for the victims,” Kyle told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
Meanwhile, senior Conservative MP Robert Jenrick called on Andrew to “leave public life forever” and to “stop having any subsidy from the taxpayer whatsoever.”
This call came as the business holding known as The Crown Estate released documentation saying that Andrew had paid annual rent of “one peppercorn (if demanded)” since 2003 on his 30-bedroom Royal Lodge at Windsor that he holds on a 75-year lease.
No sweat off Andrew’s brow?
The 65-year-old prince, brother of King Charles, has always publicly denied Giuffre’s allegations, even after giving up his royal duties in 2019, his military titles in 2022 (the same year he settled out of court) and most recently his “Duke of York” title on Friday.
A long form BBC interview with Emily Maitlis soon after the allegations came to light drew major attention. In it, the under-fire royal made various claims that seemed to strain credulity, such as an in-depth memory of a supposed family trip to a Pizza Express restaurant on one day when Giuffre accused him of wrongdoing, and a claim that he was physically incapable of sweating as a result of his military service in the Falklands War in the 1980s.
British newspapers also last week published an email that purportedly showed Andrew had stayed in touch with Epstein longer than he previously claimed.
Giuffre mentioned the legal battle with Andrew and the settlement in “Nobody’s Girl,” saying she had expected more from him.
“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,” Giuffre wrote.
“We would never get a confession, of course. That’s what settlements are designed to avoid,” she said. “But we were trying for the next best thing: a general acknowledgment of what I’d been through.”
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher
