The Metropolitan Police in London said it is “actively looking into” a newspaper report that Prince Andrew asked an officer assigned to him as a bodyguard “to dig up dirt” on sexual assault accuser Virginia Giuffre in 2011.
The report, in the Mail on Sunday, said that Andrew provided the bodyguard with Giuffre’s date of birth and confidential social security number to try to find out if she had a criminal record or any potentially damaging information about her just before the U.K.-based newspaper was due to publish a photo of Giuffre’s first meeting with the prince.
It’s not clear if the officer complied with the request. Giuffre’s family said she didn’t have a criminal record.
The report follows Buckingham Palace’s announcement on Friday that Andrew had agreed to relinquish his royal title Duke of York and other British honors after emails emerged showing he had remained in contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein longer than he had previously admitted.
“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,” Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III, said in the statement. “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.”
Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, sued Andrew in 2021, alleging that he forced her to engage in sexual acts against her will when she was 17 years old. She has accused Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, of trafficking her to Andrew. The two reached an out-of-court settlement in 2022. Andrew has denied the allegations.
In a statement to CBS News, Guiffre’s family said they believe Prince Andrew’s decision to give up his royal titles is “vindication for our sister and survivors everywhere.” They called on Charles to strip him of the title of prince.
“This moment serves as victory for Virginia, who consistently maintained, ‘He knows what happened, I know what happened, and there’s only one of us telling the truth, and I know that’s me,'” the statement said. “This is not just a victory for her, but for every single survivor of the horrific crimes perpetrated by Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
The emergence of the emails was another blow for the House of Windsor after years of tawdry headlines about Andrew’s dodgy friends and suspicious business deals.
The move to insulate the monarchy from Andrew’s scandals has been ongoing since November 2019, when he gave up all of his public duties and charity roles after a disastrous interview when he sought to counter media reports about his friendship with Epstein and deny allegations that he had sex with a 17-year-old Giuffre.
Andrew was widely criticized for failing to show empathy for Epstein’s victims and for offering unbelievable explanations for his friendship with the disgraced financier.
The BBC interview, in which he said he cut off contact with Epstein in 2010, came back to haunt him and sowed the seeds for his demotion when it emerged that he had emailed Epstein 12 weeks later. Prince Andrew told Epstein in the note that they were “in this together” and would “have to rise above it.”
British Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who was serving as the government’s representative on the Sunday morning news programs, said a police officer should not be enlisted in a smear campaign.
“These are deeply concerning allegations,” Miliband told the BBC. “I think people want to look at those allegations and what the substance is behind them. But if that is correct, that is absolutely not the way that close protection officers should be used.”
In his statement on Friday, Andrew said he continues to “vigorously deny” the accusations.
As well as no longer being known as the Duke of York, Andrew will also give up other titles: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
He will remain a prince, a title he was given at birth.
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