Getty ImagesVirginia Giuffre would have viewed Prince Andrew giving up his titles “as a victory”, the ghostwriter of her posthumous memoir told Newsnight.
The book, Nobody’s Girl, co-written by Amy Wallace, details Ms Giuffre’s encounters with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell – and more details of her allegations about Prince Andrew, which he has always denied.
In the memoir – released on Tuesday – Ms Giuffre described three occasions where she alleged Prince Andrew had sex with her.
Ms Wallace spent four years writing the book with Ms Giuffre, who took her own life almost six months ago.
In the book, Ms Giuffre said she had sex with Prince Andrew on three separate occasions. She says the third occasion was on Epstein’s island as part of what Ms Giuffre called “an orgy” with Epstein and approximately eight other young women.
Prince Andrew, who reached a financial settlement with Ms Giuffre in 2022, announced on Friday that he was voluntarily deciding not to use his titles including the Duke of York, an honour received from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
He is also giving up membership of the Order of the Garter – the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in Britain.
But there are still calls for them to be formally removed.
Ms Wallace said: “I can speak for Virginia; I know that she would view it as a victory that he was forced, by whatever means, to voluntarily give them up.”
She called it a “symbolic gesture” which has made “modern history in terms of the royal era”, describing it as “a step in the right direction”.
“Virginia wanted all the men who she had been trafficked to, against her will, to be held to account, and this is just one of the men.
“Even though he (Andrew) continues to deny it, his life is being eroded because of his past behaviour, as it should be,” Ms Wallace said.
Ms Wallace went on to say there was a period when Prince Andrew “indicated he was willing to help investigators in the US” but he was “never available, for some reason”.
“That’s something he could still do. He could say, as he has repeatedly, ‘I still deny that I was involved… however, I was in these houses and I was on that island and I was on the jet and I saw things, and I know how much these women have suffered and I would like to share what I saw,” Ms Wallace said.
Ms Wallace said the private jets used by Epstein “had been remodelled in order to afford many bedrooms – they were designed as flying trafficking agents, they were there to use girls in”.
She added: “Prince Andrew was on at least one of those jets that I know of, if not more.
“He has to take sort of the measure of his own moral compass – he said in his settlement with Virginia that he now acknowledges the pain that these women and young girls had suffered. If you really feel it, do something about it.”
Speaking about Ms Giuffre, Ms Wallace said: “I’m sad and I’m honoured to be able to speak at least a little bit on her behalf to stand up for her.
“She wrote this book to try to help other people, to make the world a better place.
“She deserves all credit for whatever role she played in forcing Prince Andrew to relinquish a few more of his titles but she deserves all credit even more than that for being brave enough to stand up to say ‘this isn’t right’.”
The memoir, which the bought from a book store in central London days before its official release, paints a picture of a web of rich and powerful people abusing young women.
At the centre of the abuse was Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence on sex-trafficking charges.
Ms Giuffre says that even decades later, she remembers how much she feared them both.
Epstein was convicted in Florida in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a person under the age of 18. He died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
