The death of Virginia Giuffre will leave questions that are now likely to remain unanswered.
Her name will always be associated with the scandals and criminality surrounding the late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his circle – with Ms Giuffre one of the most prominent among his accusers, revealing the trafficking and sexual exploitation of young women.
The photo of her and Prince Andrew, taken in London in 2001, became emblematic of the royal’s entanglement with Epstein and was central to his disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019.
The origins of the picture remain uncertain. But Ms Giuffre’s death adds another layer to the mystery of what must have inadvertently become one of the most widely viewed photos in royal history.
Epstein – who was said to have taken the photo – died in jail facing sex trafficking charges.
Ghislaine Maxwell – who helped him abuse young girls and is pictured to the right of Prince Andrew and Ms Giuffre – is in prison in the US. Prince Andrew has stepped down from all public duties. And Virginia Giuffre, a smiling teenager in the photo, is now dead.
Ms Giuffre – who was born in the US – died by suicide at her farm in Western Australia aged 41, her family said on Friday.
Prince Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing involving Ms Giuffre.
They reached an out-of-court settlement in 2022, in which Prince Andrew paid an undisclosed amount of money.
A statement with the settlement expressed regret on his part – but contained no admission of liability or an apology. Prince Andrew has always denied all the accusations against him.
The prospect of Prince Andrew facing a court hearing in New York was averted by the settlement, but it had been a huge problem for the Royal Family, and Prince Andrew was swiftly removed from all official public roles.
His reputation has never recovered.
At this stage, there is still much that is not known about Ms Giuffre’s last days or her personal circumstances.
But as her family has said, as a young woman, she had the strength to stand up to a toxic mix of power, money and privilege in the circle surrounding Epstein, that sexually exploited so many girls.
There will be suspicions the long shadow of Epstein’s poisonous misuse of wealth and influence has indirectly claimed another victim.
By BBC News
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