The family of the late Virginia Giuffre said the news that Prince Andrew will give up his remaining titles"rehabilitated her," PA Media and DPA reported.
It was previously reported that Andrew, who is the younger brother of British King Charles III, will stop using his other titles and honors and will no longer be known as the Duke of York, which comes amid the publication in the US of new documents surrounding his role in the scandal with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and a new investigation into alleged contact with a Chinese spy, BTA writes.
Giuffre's posthumous memoir is expected to be published in days. The former duke paid millions to settle a sexual assault case against her in 2022, despite insisting he had never met her.
In an interview with the BBC, Giuffre's brother, Skye Roberts, said his sister, who died in April,"told the truth from the beginning." "We shed a lot of happy and sad tears today. I think they're happy because in a lot of ways this rehabilitates Virginia," he added.
Giuffre claimed she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew three times, including when she was 17 after being trafficked by convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In her memoir, she says that Andrew behaved as if intercourse with her was his"birthright."
Roberts added that he was prepared to contact the British parliament or the king to "present the evidence that we believe is available."
"I think it's really important for the world to know what kind of hero she was. And also how much is left (unrevealed) - in a way the stone is still left unturned," he added.
The former duke used the statement renouncing his title to insist that the allegations against him were false. In the document released by Buckingham Palace, Andrew said that after discussions with the king and close and distant relatives of the royal family, it was concluded that"the persistent allegations against him are distracting His Majesty and the Royal Family from their work."
Andrew has faced a fresh wave of backlash after appearing in the latest Epstein-related documents released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee. The documents include flight logs showing Prince Andrew as a passenger on the financier's private jet in 2000 and 2006. Separately, a newly-resurfaced email from 2011 shows the former duke writing to Epstein:"We're in this together," months after he publicly said he had cut ties with him in December 2010.
The prince retired from public life in 2019 after an interview in which he said he had “no regrets” about his friendship with Epstein. He later stopped using the title “His Royal Highness.”
