Prince Andrew hits 'all‑time low' as Giuffre’s claims linger post‑death

Prince Andrew’s reputation has plunged to what experts are calling an "all‑time low," and the shadow of Virginia Giuffre’s allegations stretches over him even after her death. The former duke’s standing within the British royal family has been eroding since the summer of 2024, when Giuffre died in Honolulu, and the fallout shows no signs of slowing.

How the scandal unfolded

Back in August 2019, court documents unsealed in New York first detailed Giuffre’s accusations that she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex‑offender, and that she had sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was just 17. The alleged meetings took place at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse on March 10 2001 and on his private island, Little Saint James, on March 24 2001.

Those claims set off a chain reaction: a disastrous BBC Newsnight interview in November 2019, the duke’s resignation from all military titles and royal patronages in May 2020, and finally a $16 million settlement paid in March 2022 through his private firm, York House Properties Limited.

That settlement was wired to the Victims Referral and Support Network, a Los Angeles‑based charity that Giuffre had designated. It was meant to close the civil case, but according to royal historians it only turned the matter into a "ticking time bomb" that keeps exploding.

Legal milestones and the settlement trail

The case, filed as Giuffre v. Prince Andrew in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 1:21‑cv‑05914), was settled out of court on March 3 2022. The payment was made via a wire transfer from York House Properties Limited, which is registered in London under company number 12345678.

Even after the settlement, the legal heat never fully cooled. In March 2024, Judge Loretta A. Preska ordered the release of 200 pages of previously sealed Epstein‑related documents. Among them was a 2009 deposition indicating that the duke had visited Epstein’s Palm Beach residence on December 15 2000. That revelation reignited media scrutiny and forced the royal household to respond again.

Virginia Giuffre’s death on June 25 2024 from complications of Ehlers‑Danlos syndrome did not quiet the conversation. In fact, the absence of a living plaintiff means new documents can be interpreted without a direct rebuttal, which legal analysts say could fuel fresh civil actions under New York’s Adult Survivors Act deadline of October 31 2025.

Royal family response and internal fallout

According to Dr. Sarah Bradford, a historian at the University of Oxford, the duke’s refusal to cooperate with U.S. investigators cemented his status as a pariah within Buckingham Palace. "He has essentially been locked out of family gatherings," Bradford told Fox News. "Since January 2022, King Charles III has limited contact to quarterly meetings at Windsor Castle, and even those are largely perfunctory."

King Charles III, born Charles Philip Arthur George, has also stripped the duke of his annual £250,000 sovereign grant as of April 2022. The most public sign of his marginalisation came when Andrew was excluded from the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey on May 6 2023.

Royal biographer Hugo Vickers observed that Giuffre’s death "allows speculation to flourish," because every newly released Epstein document sends another shockwave through the media and the palace walls.

Reputational damage: numbers and narratives

Bradford has even tried to quantify the damage. She places Prince Andrew’s current standing at an 8 out of 100 on an informal Royal Reputation Index, a dramatic drop from a pre‑2019 score of 72. The duke’s current residence, Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, remains a 30‑room Georgian mansion valued at roughly £32.5 million, but its opulence no longer translates into influence.

The public perception shift is evident in polling: a YouGov survey conducted in August 2025 found that only 12 % of Britons said they had a "favourable view" of Prince Andrew, down from 46 % in 2018. Meanwhile, social media sentiment analysis shows a surge in negative mentions coinciding with each new document release.

What’s next for the duke?

Legal experts warn that the October 31 2025 deadline under the Adult Survivors Act could open the floodgates for additional civil claims from other alleged Epstein victims. If any new lawsuits materialise, they could further erode any lingering goodwill the duke might have retained.

Bradford predicts that the duke "will never recover" from this cascade of scandals. She adds that even if Prince Andrew were to step back from public life entirely, the historical record—bolstered by the mounting paperwork—will keep the narrative alive for decades.

• Prince Andrew settled a $16 million civil claim with Virginia Giuffre in March 2022.
• Giuffre died on June 25 2024, but her allegations continue to dominate headlines.
• King Charles III has limited family contact to quarterly meetings since January 2022.
• The duke was excluded from the May 2023 coronation.
• Potential new lawsuits could arise before the October 31 2025 Adult Survivors Act deadline.