The Metropolitan Police has officially announced that it will take “no further action” regarding allegations that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sought information about his accuser, the late Virginia Giuffre, from his police protection officer. These claims, which initially surfaced in the Mail on Sunday in October, alleged that the former prince provided the officer with Ms. Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number just before the newspaper published a notable photograph of the pair meeting in February 2011. Following an assessment, the Met stated on Saturday that the review "has not revealed any additional evidence of criminal acts or misconduct" related to the matter. Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor has not issued a comment on these specific reports but has consistently and vehemently denied all allegations made against him, reports The WP Times with reference to ВВС.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police confirmed the decision, stating that the force remains committed to thoroughly assessing any new information that could assist in this matter. "To date, we have not received any additional evidence that would support reopening the investigation. In the absence of any further information, we will be taking no further action," the spokesperson detailed. They added that, as with any other case, should new and relevant information come to their attention, including any material released from the United States (US), they would assess it accordingly.
Ms. Giuffre, who sadly took her own life earlier this year, was one of the key accusers claiming sexual exploitation by the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful associates. Her family expressed deep disappointment regarding the police decision to drop the investigation. In a statement released on Saturday, the family noted they were troubled that the decision was made "without explanation and without speaking to us."
The family further voiced surprise that the Metropolitan Police did not await the release of additional evidence potentially contained within the Epstein files, which are due to be made public by Congress following the passage of the Epstein Transparency Act. While they previously commended the UK’s overall handling of the case involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, they concluded that, in light of this decision, "justice has not been served."
Ms. Giuffre had claimed she was forced to have sexual relations with the then-Prince Andrew on three separate occasions, including an incident in 2001 when she was 17, at the London residence of his friend, Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell, who was Epstein's former girlfriend, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence on sex-trafficking charges related to Epstein. Epstein himself died in a New York police cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges.
In her memoir, published posthumously, Ms. Giuffre provided detailed accounts of her allegations against the former prince, including a third alleged sexual encounter on Epstein's private island, which she described as part of an "orgy." She also recalled her reaction upon seeing a photo of Epstein and the former prince together in New York in 2011, noting she was "revolted to see two of my abusers together" and "amazed that a member of the Royal Family would be stupid enough to appear in public with Epstein."
In his 2019 interview with BBC Newsnight, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor stated he had no memory of ever meeting Ms. Giuffre and denied having had "any sort of sexual contact" with her. The civil sexual assault case filed against him by Ms. Giuffre in the US was formally concluded in 2022 after they reached a financial settlement.
Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor has faced years of intense public and legal scrutiny over his historical association with Jeffrey Epstein but has consistently maintained his innocence regarding any allegations of wrongdoing related to the convicted sex offender. Earlier this year, he was stripped of his title as prince after weeks of pressure and is also due to vacate his residence, the Royal Lodge in Windsor, by next October, with an expected move to Sandringham early next year.
The scrutiny intensified recently when Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor was among several high-profile figures who appeared in photographs released by Democrats on Friday, intended to showcase the extent of Epstein's connections to the wealthy and powerful. The Metropolitan Police noted that being named in files related to the disgraced financier is not, in itself, an indication of wrongdoing. One photograph released featured a cropped section of an image showing the former prince conversing with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, originally taken by Getty Images in 2018, with the full version also including King Charles.
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