Prince Andrew will need to ‘show he has genuine regrets’ if he wants to return to duties as a working royal following the death of Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, experts have claimed.
The 41-year-old, born Virginia Roberts, died by suicide at her farm in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Western , on Friday night.
Ms Giuffre was one of the most prominent victims of the late paedophile, who killed himself while awaiting trial in a US prison in 2019, and called for charges to be brought against him.
She also claimed she was sexually abused by Prince Andrew at the behest of Epstein’s associate, jailed British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, when she was just 17.
The Duke of York agreed to an out-of-court a settlement reportedly worth around £12 million after Ms Giuffre alleged Epstein trafficked her across the world to have sex with the prince. He has denied ever having sex with her and the settlement did not involve any admission of liability.
The scandal was bought back into the international spotlight last month, when Ms Giuffre took to social media to claim she had severe injuries and just days to live after a crash with a bus.
But questions were later raised about the credibility of the post, which Ms Giuffre claimed was a mistake and meant to share to her private Facebook page, after police described the crash as minor and said no significant injuries were reported.
Royal experts believe the Prince will only face further turmoil in the wake of her death and claimed that he will need to show he has ‘genuine regrets’ if he ever wants to play a public role again.
Author and journalist Tom Bower told : ‘Virginia Giuffre’s death won’t relieve the pressure on Prince Andrew but have an opposite effect.
‘People will feel even more sympathy for the woman whose abominable treatment by Epstein and Maxwell tormented her to this sad end.’
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams added: ‘The tragic death of Virginia Giuffre marks the end of a life which was scarred by the abuse she suffered.
‘Recent events, when she was supposedly involved in a car crash, raised questions over her state of mind. Her suicide is especially sad as she was a survivor of abuse.
‘There are several problems for Andrew if he has any hope of rehabilitation or of appearing at any royal event other than one held in a church.
‘Firstly the way he has handled the accusations against him has been so unbelievably cataclysmic that, in opinion polls, his support hardly exists.
‘No one has forgotten the interview on Newsnight that was so catastrophic, that the English language lacks words to describe its ghastliness adequately.
Mr Fitzwilliams continued: ‘The idea of him having a job helping to manage the royal estates made sense but not, it seems, to him.
‘In fact things have got, if anything, worse. Andrew appears bereft of dignity and is undoubtedly a walking disaster.
‘The York brand remains toxic which is extremely sad for his family.
‘He obviously feels this deeply, but if he wants to know the reason for his travails, all he needs to do is to look in the mirror.
‘If he ever is to hope for rehabilitation of some sort, and he is only 65, he needs a radical rethink and for it to be believed that he has genuine regrets. This most emphatically does not appear to be the case at the moment.’
Ms Giuffre is understood to have died at her farm in Western . Police confirmed emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in the Perth suburb of Neergabby on Friday night.
‘Police and St John Western attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,’ a police spokeswoman said.
‘The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.’
Her family said in a statement: ‘It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western .
‘She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
‘Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
‘Despite all the adversity she faced in her life, she shone so bright. She will be missed beyond measure.’
Ms Giuffre had alleged Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her three times, in London during a 2001 trip, at Epstein’s New York mansion when she was 17 and in the Virgin Islands when she was 18.
Andrew repeatedly denied her allegations and has said he can’t recall ever meeting her, although a photograph of them together in a London townhouse, his arm around her bare midriff, was included in Giuffre’s lawsuit against him.
The settlement did not involve any admission of liability on his behalf, and he denies any sexual contact with her.
The scandal led to Prince Andrew stepping back from royal life after a disastrous interview with Emily Maitlis, then working for the BBC.
The discussion, in which Andrew made a series of claims – including insisting he couldn’t have been with Ms Giuffre at the time because he was dining at Pizza Express in Woking, and that a medical condition left him unable to sweat – has since gained notoriety and is widely acknowledged to have embarrassed the royals.
Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving dozens of teenage girls and young women, some as young as 14.