LONDON — The family of Virginia Giuffre said Saturday they were "deeply disappointed" after London's Metropolitan Police dropped its investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew, saying authorities found no evidence that he had asked a bodyguard to investigate her.
In a statement, Giuffre's family said they had been in contact with a Metropolitan Police detective as recently as Friday and were asked whether they had evidence to present — with no warning that the decision was imminent. They also questioned why police did not wait for the release of additional material tied to the Epstein Transparency Act, which Congress recently passed.
"While we have hailed the UK’s overall handling of the case of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor previously, today we feel justice has not been served," the family said in the statement.
British police said earlier Saturday that they had found no evidence that Mountbatten-Windsor asked one of his bodyguards to investigate Giuffre, a victim of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
London’s Metropolitan Police in October said it was looking into media reports that Andrew in 2011 sought information to smear Giuffre by asking a police bodyguard to find out if she had a criminal record. The Mail on Sunday newspaper claimed the then-prince passed Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to his taxpayer-funded bodyguard.
In a statement on Saturday, the force said its assessment “has not revealed any additional evidence of criminal acts or misconduct” and it would not open a criminal investigation.
“The Met remains committed to thoroughly assessing any new information that could assist in this matter,” said police Central Specialist Crime Commander Ella Marriott. “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. Our thoughts will always be with Ms. Giuffre’s family and friends following her death.”
Giuffre, who committed suicide in April, alleged that in the early 2000s, when she was a teenager, she was caught up in Epstein’s sex trafficking ring and exploited by Andrew and other influential men.
King Charles III formally stripped his younger brother of his royal title last month after new details emerged of Andrew’s relationship with Epstein and Giuffre’s posthumous memoir refocused attention on her allegations.
Mountbatten-Windsor reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre in 2022 after she filed a civil suit against him in New York. While he did not admit wrongdoing, he did acknowledge Giuffre’s suffering as a victim of sex trafficking.
