The family of Virginia Giuffre has called for the Duchess of York to be stripped of her courtesy royal title after she called sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a “supreme friend” in a 2011 email.
Seven charities have cut ties with Sarah Ferguson since the email – in which she also appeared to apologise for her public criticism of Epstein after claiming to have broken off contact – emerged last Sunday.
On Thursday, Ms Giuffre’s sister-in-law, Amanda Roberts, told BBC Newsnight: “If you are not safeguarding the most vulnerable people in your community, why should you hold those positions of power?”
A spokesperson for the duchess said it was written to counter Epstein’s threat to sue for defamation, and that she regretted any association with him.
Ms Giuffre, who claimed she was sexually assaulted by Prince Andrew three times after being trafficked by Epstein, died by suicide at the age of 41 in Western Australia in April.
Prince Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing involving Ms Giuffre.
The email, published by the Mail on Sunday and the Sun, read: “You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.”
It appeared to have been sent a few weeks after she said in an interview that Epstein was “rightly jailed” in 2008, and that she had broken off contact with him.
Ms Roberts told Newsnight that the duchess should “for sure” lose her courtesy title.
“If you are not one to stand up if you actively know or see that these things are happening, you shouldn’t hold those titles,” Roberts said.
A courtesy royal title is one held by those who are associated with a peer or member of the royal family but do not hold a substantive title.
The duchess has retained her title despite her divorce from Prince Andrew, in the same way that Diana, Princess of Wales kept her title after her separation from King Charles, then the Prince of Wales.
Prince Andrew lost his royal patronages and military titles over the court case brought against him by Ms Giuffre, but he has retained the title of Duke of York.
On Monday, seven charities – including the Teenage Cancer Trust and British Heart Foundation – announced that the duchess had been removed as either patron or ambassador following the publication of the email.
A spokesperson for the duchess said that she would not be commenting on the charities’ decision to remove her.
Ferguson said she had “humbly apologised” and knew Epstein would feel “hellaciously let down by me”.
Ms Giuffre said she was trafficked by Epstein to the duchess’s ex-husband Prince Andrew in 2001, at the age of 17 – she claimed he sexually abused her three times.
The prince, who has denied all claims against him, reached an out-of-court settlement with her in 2022 which contained no admission of liability or apology.
Ms Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, said the family wanted to ensure “accountability” for those involved in Epstein’s crimes.
“Carrying on her legacy is very important to us and accountability is our number one motivator.
“And certainly Prince Andrew was involved in that – as are so many men that are still out there that need to be investigated.”
In an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg earlier this month, Ms Giuffre’s family said the Duke of York needed to be fully investigated over allegations he sexually abused her.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a Royal Family member or president or prince… every single person deserves to be held to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.
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