What Happened Between Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew?

Virginia Giuffre was among the first high-profile names to speak out about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Following the former prince's arrest on Thursday, February 19, her accusations are more important than ever.

Giuffre made her first public allegations against Mountbatten-Windsor in 2011, publishing a photo of her and the British prince at the home of Ghislaine Maxwell, one of Epstein's close associates. She was reportedly paid $160,000 to give an interview to the Daily Mail, and she later claimed that Andrew had sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. (via Washington Post)

Giuffre & Prince Andrew's Legal Battle

In 2021, Virginia Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit in New York that stated she'd been trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and subsequently assaulted by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on several occasions when she was a teenager. Despite Andrew's attempts to dismiss the case, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan allowed the lawsuit to proceed and it was ultimately settled out of court. (via The Guardian)

It was initially reported that Guiffre and Mountbatten-Windsor's settlement may have been as high at £15 million, but later reports indicated the figure was probably closer to £3 million.

Following the further release of Jeffrey Epstein's private emails in January 2026, evidence arose suggesting the now-infamous picture of Giuffre and Prince Andrew at Maxwell's residence was indeed real, despite the former prince's protestations it was fake.

On October 17, 2025, King Charles III announced that he would remove his brother's titles and honors following the accusations that Giuffre first brought to light.

On February 19, 2026, the Thames Valley Police launched an official investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor's connections with Epstein under charges of misconduct in public office and an alleged breach of state secrets. It was the first arrest of a senior member of the British Royal Family since King Charles I's arrest in 1647.

Although Giuffre is widely credited as having brought Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's criminal activities to light, some investigators have labeled her accusations as "problematic" following the release of the Epstein files. Some reports inidcate her story "included sensationalized if not demonstrably inaccurate characterizations of her experiences." (via AP News)