More damaging reports on Andrew appear as King faces calls to strip him of prince title

Prince Andrew sought to obtain personal information about his accuser Virginia Giuffre through his police protection in 2011, according to new media reports.

It comes after Ms Giuffre’s brother called on King Charles III to strip Andrew of his “prince” title, following the announcement he would stop using his other titles, including Duke of York.

Ms Giuffre said she was among the girls and young women sexually exploited by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his wealthy circle.

BBC News has contacted the Metropolitan Police and Buckingham Palace for comment.

Prince Andrew has not commented on the reports made on Sunday, but has consistently denied all allegations against him.

Ms Giuffre, who took her own life earlier this year, claimed that she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions, including when she was 17.

According to the Mail on Sunday, Andrew asked his police protection to investigate her just before the newspaper published a photo of Ms Giuffre’s first meeting with the prince in February 2011.

The paper alleged that he gave the officer her date of birth and confidential social security number.

The Sunday Telegraph also claimed that Andrew “sought to dig up dirt” on Ms Giuffre.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Times reported that the Prince of Wales, William, was “not satisfied” with Andrew’s decision to relinquish his titles – and would take a more ruthless approach, including a ban on his uncle attending his future coronation.

The prince has been under increasing pressure over his links with sex offender Epstein, with calls for Buckingham Palace to take action against him.

On Friday, Andrew announced that he was voluntarily handing back his titles and giving up membership of the Order of the Garter – the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in Britain.

He will also cease be the Duke of York, a title received from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Ms Giuffre alleged she was forced to have sex with the prince on three occasions, including when she was aged 17 at the home of his friend Ghislaine Maxwell in London in 2001.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence on sex-trafficking charges related to her former boyfriend, Epstein.

Prince Andrew made a financial payment to Ms Giuffre in an out-of-court settlement in 2022, after she had brought a civil case against him.

On Friday evening, Ms Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts told BBC Newsnight his sister would have been “very proud” of the latest development regarding Prince Andrew, but that he would like the King to go a step further and “take out the prince in the Andrew”.

“I think anybody that was implicated… should have some sort of responsibility and accountability for these survivors,” he said.

He added that he would “welcome any contact from the King, from members of parliament”.

When Prince Andrew was born in 1960, he was automatically a prince as the son of a monarch. This could only be changed if a letters patent – a legal document authorised by the monarch – was to be issued by the King.

In a statement on Friday, Prince Andrew said he would no longer use his title or honours following discussion with his family and the King.

“We have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family,” he explained, adding that he “vigorously” denies all the accusations against him.

The prince had already ceased to be a “working royal” and had lost the use of his HRH title and no longer appeared at official royal events. His role now will be even more diminished.

Prince Andrew has faced a series of scandals over recent years, including a court case he settled with Ms Giuffre.

Next week a posthumous memoir by Ms Giuffre will be published. It is likely to cast further attention on Prince Andrew’s involvement with her and Epstein.

Ms Giuffre claimed that she was one of many vulnerable girls and young women who had been sexually exploited by Epstein and his associates.

She alleged that she was forced to have sex with the prince at the house of his friend Ghislaine Maxwell in London in 2001, when Ms Giuffre was 17 years old.

Her memoir describes two other occasions on which she alleges she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew – in Epstein’s townhouse in New York and on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands.

In the book, she also writes that she agreed to a gag order.

Queen Elizabeth II was celebrating her platinum jubilee in 2022 – the first British monarch to reach the milestone – as the civil case against her son gathered pace.

“I agreed to a one-year gag order, which seemed important to the prince because it ensured that his mother’s platinum jubilee would not be tarnished any more than it already had been,” Ms Giuffre writes in her book.

Her brother, Mr Roberts, told BBC Newsnight that he had “shed a lot of happy and sad tears” after the Prince Andrew’s announcement he would give up his royal titles.

“All the years of work that she put in is now coming to some sort of justice, and these monsters can’t escape from it – the truth will find its way out.”

He added that there was “so much more to be accomplished, especially here in the United States”.

Prince Andrew has faced intense scrutiny over his links with disgraced financier Epstein, more recently including questions about when he had really cut off contact.

In a now-infamous BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, Prince Andrew said that he had severed all links with Epstein after they had been photographed together in New York in December 2010.

But emails sent in February 2011 later emerged suggesting that he had privately stayed in touch with Epstein, including sending a message that read: “Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!”

Prince Andrew is expected to stay in his Windsor home, Royal Lodge, on which he has his own private lease which runs until 2078.

His ex-wife will be known as Sarah Ferguson and no longer Duchess of York, but their daughters will continue to have the title of princess.