প্রিন্স অ্যান্ড্রু এবং জেফরি এপস্টাইন সম্পর্কে আমরা যত বেশি শিখি, ততই খারাপ হয়
In an excerpt from her book, Nobody’s Daughter: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, she wrote: “A master manipulator threw out what seemed to be life preservers to drowning girls.” Virginia Giuffre, pictured as a teenager, is one of the most well-known victims of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Credit: Getty Images
Andrew’s appearance in London occurred in March 2001. He visited Epstein’s mews house near Hyde Park, where Maxwell and Giuffre joined him. The photo in question was taken that night, with Andrew’s arm around Giuffre’s waist. Maxwell stood nearby; Epstein took the picture. The four went to dinner and then a nightclub. “The prince went to the bar and came back with a cocktail for me,” she wrote. “Then he asked me to dance. He was an awkward dancer, and I remember him sweating a lot. On the way back, Maxwell told me: ‘When we get back to the house, you’re going to do for him what you do for Jeffrey.'” Back at the house, Maxwell and Epstein said goodnight and went upstairs, indicating it was time to take care of things.
In the years that followed, I have thought a lot about how he acted. He was friendly enough, but he still had a point; It was as if he believed it was his birthright to have sex with me.
Jeffrey Epstein appeared in court in West Palm Beach, Florida in 2008. Credit: AP
Giuffre recalled Andrew rushing into sex, writing that the whole thing took less than an hour. The next morning, Maxwell praised her: “You did a good job. The prince had fun.” Giuffre wrote in her memoir that she received US$15,000 ($23,000). She says she later had sex with Andrew twice more.
No one can control Giuffre’s memory, but it’s worth noting that she testified about these events in a lengthy legal case about her experiences. Andrew has denied the wrongdoing and maintains the denial. Famously, he denied the sweating issue when it was put to him in a Newsnight interview. BBC. But he eventually paid millions of pounds to settle a civil suit for sexual assault.
FALSEHOODS, LIES UNCOVERED
Although Giuffre’s basic allegations were known, the memoir allows the public to hear them from her. The impact on Andrew is all the more damaging because some of his earlier statements have been proven false. When Andrew appeared on Newsnight in 2019, he was faced with extensive questions from presenter Emily Maitlis about why he contacted Epstein again after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes in 2008 and spent time in jail.
Andrew was with Epstein in New York in December 2010, and photos of the pair were taken in New York. Loading
When asked about the photo, Andrew said he was simply visiting Epstein to tell him they should part ways. He was emphatic on the subject: “To this day, I have had no contact with him since that day.”
The prince disputed the claim.
The message, first reported last week, shows Andrew writing to Epstein two months after the New York meeting to discuss Giuffre’s allegations. “Looks like we are in this together and we just have to get through it,” Andrew wrote. “Otherwise, keep in close contact and we will play some more soon!!!!”
When that email emerged last Monday, the scandal became an even greater risk for Buckingham Palace. What could she believe? What did Andrew say? The palace needed a strong firewall between the King and the prince.
NEW RULES
Andrew’s titles are not removed. He agrees not to use them. Going further means taking the matter to Westminster and asking Parliament to remove him from the Duchy, which has not been done for a century. The king obviously wanted to avoid this move, but it would be an option if the palace felt the need to impose further restrictions on Andrew.
Prince Andrew answered questions about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein during a BBC interview. Credit: BBC
So the recent allegations are both disturbing and curious. The more we learn about Andrew and Epstein, the worse it gets. According to reports in London on Sunday, Andrew turned to his taxpayer-funded personal security unit when Giuffre’s allegations first became public in 2011 to ask for help.
The allegation is that Andrew asked his security team to investigate Giuffre and gave them her personal social security number, which he likely obtained from Maxwell. He later claimed to palace officials that Giuffre had a criminal record. This was false. It seems his personal defense started with lies.
For Andrew, the past comes back, and it comes with Shakespearean irony: “And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges.”
What other emails from the past might surface?
For now, the royal family has protected itself from the memory’s worst royal scandal. The king has isolated his brother so that Andrew’s burning fire does not burn the palace. If more needs to be done, Prince William will have to take an even tougher stance depending on his uncle’s actions, that it all depends on his uncle.
Nobody’s Daughter: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice by Virginia Roberts Giuffre is published by Penguin in Australia on Tuesday October 21.
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প্রকাশিত: 2025-10-20 06:50:00
উৎস: www.smh.com.au
