【By Lin Chenli, Observers Network】On October 19 local time, the UK's Sunday Mail exposed that Prince Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III of the UK, had asked the police to dig up personal information about Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexual assault, in an attempt to defame Giuffre.

The Sunday Mail reported that Prince Andrew had requested a police officer from the Metropolitan Police's Royal Protection Unit in 2011 to check if Giuffre had a criminal record, and cited an email sent by Andrew to the deputy press secretary of Queen Elizabeth as evidence.

The content of the email showed that Prince Andrew claimed he had provided Giuffre's date of birth and social security number to the police and believed Giuffre had a criminal record in the United States. Giuffre's family told the Sunday Mail that Giuffre had no criminal record.

The report pointed out that there is currently no evidence to indicate that the police followed Prince Andrew's request. The Metropolitan Police said they are "actively investigating" the allegations mentioned in the Sunday Mail report. Buckingham Palace has not immediately responded to requests for comment.

British renowned lawyer Proude said that Prince Andrew's behavior was "extremely despicable and condemnable," "this shows that Prince Andrew used his connections, including the police paid by taxpayers, to try to dig up the scandals of sex trafficking survivors. It is simply despicable and should be investigated."

The photo, allegedly taken in 2001 at Maxwell's London residence, a associate of Epstein, with Prince Andrew (left) hugging Giuffre (middle). Social media

On October 17 local time, Prince Andrew issued a statement through Buckingham Palace, stating that due to years of criticism over his personal conduct and association with the late American sex offender Epstein, he agreed to give up his title of Duke of York.

In his statement, he said that although he repeatedly denied the allegations, these ongoing accusations would "interfere with the work of the king and the royal family," so he would no longer use the title of Duke of York and other honors, but still retain his princely status, and his two daughters would also retain their princess status.

Giuffre is one of the earliest and most well-known victims of the Epstein sexual abuse case. In 2011, she first revealed in an interview that she had photos with Prince Andrew and Maxwell, an associate of Epstein. The Sunday Mail reported that just hours after the photo was released, Prince Andrew requested the police to investigate Giuffre's personal information.

In 2019, Giuffre described in a BBC program how she was sexually trafficked to Prince Andrew by Epstein. In 2021, Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew in the U.S. Federal Court in New York, accusing him of having sexual relations with her three times when she was 17 years old in 2001.

In 2022, due to being involved in the related scandal, Prince Andrew lost his military titles and royal patronage. That year, despite his strong denial of having sexual relations with Giuffre, he still agreed to a confidential settlement with Giuffre.

This April, Giuffre died in Australia, and her family said she died by "suicide". In 2019, during the trial of Prince Andrew, she posted a tweet publicly stating that she "would never commit suicide in any way", and said "there are too many evil people who want me to stay silent". Many netizens questioned the "suicide" claim.

In November 2019, Prince Andrew denied in an interview that he had ever had sexual relations with underage girls at Epstein's mansion, and tried to distance himself from the scandal associated with Epstein, claiming that he had cut off all contact with Epstein after December 2010. However, recently disclosed emails show that in February 2011, he still maintained private contact with Epstein.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7563096911000764968/

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