Andrew will not face police action over bodyguard claim

The Metropolitan Police has said it will "take no further action" over claims Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor asked his police protection officer for information on accuser Virginia Giuffre.

The allegations, first reported in the Mail on Sunday in October, said the then-prince gave the officer Ms Giuffre's date of birth and social security number, just before the paper published a photo of the pair meeting in February 2011.

On Saturday, the Met said a further assessment "has not revealed any additional evidence of criminal acts or misconduct".

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has not commented on the reports, but has consistently denied all allegations against him.

A spokesperson for the police force said: "The Met remains committed to thoroughly assessing any new information that could assist in this matter.

"To date, we have not received any additional evidence that would support reopening the investigation. In the absence of any further information, we will be taking no further action.

"As with any other matter, should new and relevant information be brought to our attention, including in any information resulting from the release of material in the US, we will assess it."

Ms Giuffre took her own life earlier this year. In a statement on Saturday, her family said they were "deeply disappointed" by the decision to drop the investigation "without explanation and without speaking to us".

They added: "With the Epstein files about to be released by Congress since the passage of the Epstein Transparency Act, we are surprised that the Metropolitan Police didn't wait to see what further evidence might appear.

"While we have hailed the UK's overall handling of the case of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor previously, today we feel justice has not been served."

Ms Giuffre said she was among the girls and young women sexually exploited by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his wealthy circle.

She claimed she was forced to have sex with the then-Prince Andrew on three occasions, including when she was 17 at the home of his friend Ghislaine Maxwell in London, in 2001.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence on sex-trafficking charges related to Epstein, her former boyfriend - he died in a New York police cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

In her memoir, published posthumously, Ms Giuffre described her allegations against the former prince in detail.

She alleged the third time she had sex with Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was on Epstein's island, as part of what she called "an orgy".

She also recalled seeing a picture of Epstein and the former prince together in New York in 2011, saying she was "revolted to see two of my abusers together, out for a stroll" but "mostly I was amazed that a member of the Royal Family would be stupid enough to appear in public with Epstein".

In an interview with BBC Newsnight in 2019, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor said he did not remember meeting Ms Giuffre "at all", and that they "never had any sort of sexual contact."

He reached a financial settlement with Ms Giuffre in 2022, formally ending a civil sex assault case against him in the US.

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has faced years of scrutiny over his past relationship with Epstein. He has always denied allegations of wrongdoing related to Epstein.

Earlier this year he was stripped of his title as prince following weeks of intense pressure over his links to the convicted sex offender. He had previously given up his other royal titles - including the Duke of York.

He is also due to leave his mansion in Windsor, the Royal Lodge, by next October. It's expected he will move to Sandringham, in Norfolk, early next year.

On Friday, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was one of a number of high-profile figures to feature in photographs released by Democrats, showcasing Epstein's ties to the rich and powerful.

Epstein was associated with many well-known figures, and merely being named in files related to the disgraced financier is not an indication of wrongdoing by any of the parties mentioned.

A cropped section of a picture showing the former prince talking to Microsoft founder Bill Gates was included in the latest batch of photographs.

It was a cropped version of an image taken by a photographer working for Getty Images in 2018, with the original version showing them in conversation with King Charles.