Disgraced Prince Andrew sought the help of the Metropolitan Police and one of Queen Elizabeth II’s most senior aides in a campaign to smear Virginia Giuffre, according to reports.
Leaked emails seen by the Mail on Sunday revealed that Andrew handed over Ms Giuffre’s social security number and date of birth to his Met Police bodyguard.
Andrew reportedly told Ed Perkins, Queen Elizabeth’s deputy press secretary, that he had asked one of his close protection officers to find out information about Ms Giuffre.
“It would also seem she has a criminal record in the [United] States,” Andrew wrote to Mr Perkins. “I have given her DoB [date of birth] and social security number for investigation with XXX, the on duty ppo [personal protection officer].”
It is not clear whether the bodyguard complied with Andrew’s instructions.
The Met Police told The Independent it was looking into the claims. Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
The extraordinary revelations come a day after Prince Andrew gave up the use of his titles and honours, including the Duke of York title, following a sex abuse case involving convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, which has lasted more than a decade.
His relinquishment came just days before Ms Giuffre’s memoir is set to be published, which exposes details of further attention on the allegations of abuse against the disgraced prince and his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In a statement released on Friday night, Prince Andrew said: “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.”
The decision came amid growing pressure from King Charles who is said to be “glad” that he is gone.
Ms Giuffre has accused Andrew of having sex with her three times when she was 17. She claims that he sexually abused her on Epstein’s private island, Little St James, as a teenager. The prince has always denied the claims.
In March 2022, Andrew paid Ms Giuffre millions of dollars to settle a civil lawsuit, accusing him of sexual assault when she was a teenager.
As part of the agreement, he was due to pay damages to Ms Giuffre and a donation to a charity “in support of victims’ rights”, despite saying he had never met her.
Ms Giuffre’s family said she did not have a criminal record, and is requesting a full investigation as to how Andrew obtained the confidential information released to Mr Perkins.
Andrew allegedly refused to explain how he obtained Ms Giuffre’s social security number, the Mail on Sunday said.
Her family is also renewing their call to the King to “take out the ‘prince’ in the’ Andrew” and strip him of his princedom.
Despite relinquishing his titles, Andrew remains a prince. When he was born in 1960, he was automatically a prince as the son of a monarch, and this could only be changed if a Letters Patent was issued by the King.
Ms Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, told ITV News: “I want to commend the King and I want to commend the UK for taking some action.
“While it may not be enough, in a lot of ways that the survivors view it, it’s still a lot more than what we’ve been given from our own government here, even though we possess the Epstein files.
“Now, for the King, I think there’s more that he could do. He does have the ability to strip him even further of the prince title, which we would call upon.
“I think we’ve already taken all these necessary steps. Why not just take it another step further and relinquish him of his prince title as well?”
