BBC to air interview with Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre
Giuffre claims Jeffery Epstein forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew, she was seventeen at the time of the alleged encounter. Jacqui Heinrich reports.
Virginia Roberts, who claimed she was trafficked by convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions nearly 20 years ago, isn’t holding back in a shocking new interview.
Roberts, now known as Virginia Giuffre, sat down with BBC’s "Panorama" for an interview airing Monday evening in the U.K. During the interview, she responded to the prince’s denial of her allegations against him.
“This is not some sordid sex story,” said Roberts, as reported by People magazine on Monday. “This is a story of being trafficked. This is a story of abuse and this is a story of your guys’ royalty.”
According to Roberts, she was brought to London by Epstein in 2001, when she was introduced to Andrew, now 59. It was during that meeting when the trio, along with Epstein’s then-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, went to Tramp nightclub.
INTERVIEW WITH PRINCE ANDREW ACCUSER VIRGINIA ROBERTS ADDS TO ROYAL FAMILY CRISIS
Photo from 2001 that was included in court files released last week shows Prince Andrew with his arm around the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre who says Jeffrey Epstein paid her to have sex with the prince. Andrew has denied the charges. In the background is Epstein's girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. (U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals)
JEFFREY EPSTEIN ACCUSER VIRGINIA ROBERTS ON PRINCE ANDREW: 'HE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED'
“We went into the VIP section,” she alleged. “There was no waiting in the lines, obviously — you were with a prince. Andrew asked me what I wanted to drink, you know, and I said, ‘Oh, you know, something from the bar.’”
“He had something clear [to drink],” she continued. “I know mine was vodka, and then he asked me to dance. He is the most hideous dancer I’ve ever seen in my life. I mean it was horrible, and this guy was sweating all over me ... it was raining basically everywhere. I was just so grossed out from it, but I knew I had to keep him happy because that’s what Jeffrey and Ghislaine would have expected from me.”
Roberts also insisted Maxwell gave her instructions after they left the club.
“In the car, Ghislaine tells me that I have to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey — and that just made me sick.”
Roberts also claimed that she had sex with the royal at Maxwell’s London home later that evening.
She also slammed Andrew’s claim that a photograph of him and Roberts showing with his arms around her waist was doctored.
“The people on the inside are going to keep coming with these ridiculous excuses, like his arm was elongated or the photo was doctored,” she said. “I’m calling BS on this. He knows what happened. I know what happened. And there’s only one of us telling the truth, and I know that’s me.”
People shared that Buckingham Palace told the BBC that the Duke of York “unequivocally regrets his ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein and “deeply sympathizes with those affected who want some form of closure.”
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Britain's Queen Elizabeth II attends the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in central London, on November 10, 2019. (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)
The palace also stressed that “it is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”
In a previous interview with the BBC, Andrew claimed he had “no recollection of ever meeting” Roberts, “none whatsoever.”
“I have absolutely no memory of that photograph,” insisted Andrew. “I’m afraid to say that I don’t believe that photograph was taken in the way that has been suggested.”
That interview has been widely considered a public relations disaster for Andrew, who announced shortly after it aired that he would be stepping down from his royal duties.
PRINCE ANDREW'S JEFFREY EPSTEIN WOES ARE FAR FROM OVER DESPITE STEPPING DOWN FROM ROYAL DUTIES
Prince Andrew (right) is dealing with harsh backlash from critics and media personalities over an interview about his relationship with now-deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the numerous sexual assault allegations against the British royal. (Getty)
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Last week, London's Metropolitan Police disclosed that it had received a complaint in July 2015 accusing Epstein "and a British woman" -- presumably Maxwell -- of "nonrecent trafficking for sexual exploitation."
Metropolitan Police Cmdr. Alex Murray said the department interviewed Roberts -- who was not named in the statement -- and consulted with prosecutors before concluding in November 2016 that it "was not the appropriate authority to conduct inquiries in these circumstances".
"Following the legal advice, it was clear that any investigation into human trafficking would be largely focused on activities and relationships outside the UK [sic]," said Murray, who added that the Metropolitan Police revisited its decision after Epstein's death this past August and "our position remains unchanged."
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Prince Andrew, Duke of York leaves the headquarters of Crossrail at Canary Wharf on March 7, 2011, in London, England. Prince Andrew is under increasing pressure after a series of damaging revelations about him surfaced, including criticism over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Epstein died Aug. 10 after being found unconscious in a Manhattan jail cell, where he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death has been ruled a suicide.
Murray also said that London police have not received a formal request for assistance from other law enforcement agencies investigating the case.
U.S. officials are still looking into the case, and a number of civil lawsuits against Epstein’s estate are in progress.
Roberts did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment in regards to her interview.
Fox News’ Nate Day and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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