The brother of Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide last year, has described a vision of how she would react to news of Prince Andrew’s arrest, suggesting she would have raised a glass “to her survivor sisters.” Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the Duke of York, was arrested Thursday, becoming the highest-profile figure to face criminal consequences for ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to reports.
Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, spoke to 9 News earlier today, stating the focus should be on what his sister might do, rather than what she might say. “At this point, I think we have a feeling of vindication,” he said. “She’d be popping open a little cork of champagne right here and she’d be pouring it out for her survivor sisters, taking a sip and cheersing up and saying ‘hey girls, we’ve got a long way to move here but let’s take this one today.’”
Giuffre alleged she was sex trafficked to Prince Andrew by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 17 years old. Prince Andrew consistently denied the allegations, but reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre in February 2022. The lawsuit, filed in August 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, was brought under New York’s Child Victims Act.
Amanda Roberts, Giuffre’s sister-in-law, described the news of the arrest as “surreal.” “It was so surreal, we had this spike of joy, celebration, and we couldn’t believe that something was actually happening here,” she said. “It’s been hitting us in waves today, the exhaustion of the situation, but the moments of realising I can’t call my sister. I can’t call her, I can’t inform her how proud I am of her. We can’t tell her how much we love her and that everything she has been doing is not in vain.”
The arrest follows years of scrutiny regarding Prince Andrew’s association with Epstein, who was convicted of sex trafficking offenses and died by suicide in 2019 even as in jail awaiting trial on additional charges. Giuffre first publicly alleged sexual assault by Prince Andrew in 2014. He subsequently resigned from his public roles in May 2020 following widespread criticism.
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