Prince Andrew's ex Lady Victoria Hervey sparks fury with dark Virginia Giuffre response
Socialite Lady Victoria Hervey, who dated Prince Andrew the 90s, said 'dark forces are at play' as she spoke on Virginia Giuffre's posthumous allegations
Prince Andrew’s ex-girlfriend Lady Victoria Hervey has sparked outrage following the release of Virginia Giuffre's bombshell book.
Ms Giuffre took her own life in April this year after accusing the late convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein and Prince Andrew of sexual abuse.
Six months on from her death, Ms Giuffre's posthumous memoir is published today - detailing alleged sexual encounters with Prince Andrew.
In Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, Ms Giuffre writes about three alleged sexual encounters with the prince - who gave up his titles last week following a series of headlines about his friendship with paedophile financier Epstein and his links to an alleged Chinese spy.
Andrew has always vigorously denied all the accusations against him.
Responding to the release of Ms Giuffre's book, Victoria - who has made no secret of her criticism of her claims - called the allegations a 'witch hunt' and warned her followers 'dark forces are at play here.'
Taking to Instagram, Victoria posted: "Her death was extremely convenient to take back the narrative and make people forget how her story crumbled towards the end of her life."
She went on: "There are some very dark forces at play here which have created the witch hunts."
It's not the first time Lady Victoria has spoken out about Ms Giuffre, who she had labelled a 'fantasist' and a 'liar'. When the Prince Andrew accuser said she was 'fighting for her life' following a crash in April, Lady Victoria said Giuffre was “the Queen of the fake photo”.
Then as news of Ms Giuffre's death broke this year, Victoria took to social media to post: "When lies catch up with you there's no way out."
Fans responded furiously on social media, saying Victoria was 'no lady' and calling the post 'sick.' Another replied in shock: "Wow she’s a cold hearted woman!"
Hours after the post sparked a huge backlash online, Lady Victoria returned to Instagram with a follow up.
She said: "I have taken the decision to pause my posts on the topic of Virginia Giuffre at the this time. Irrespective of circumstances, suicide in anyone at anytime is tragic and in a young mother who has children even more."
Socialite Lady Victoria briefly dated Prince Andrew in 1999 and has spoken out to defend him in recent years.
In April, his accuser Ms Giuffre shared a shocking photo on Instagram showing her lying in a hospital bed as she claimed she'd been in a crash with a bus travelling at 110km and had been left with kidney failure. At the time, Lady Hervey reposted the bruised picture of Giuffre and another of herself smiling with the caption: "What is Karma." It was accompanied by the soundtrack of Europe's 1986 hit 'The Final Countdown' - an apparent mocking of Giuffre's claim she had days to live.
Weeks later, Giuffre's family released a statement to announce she had taken her own life and described her as a 'warrior in the fight against sexual abuse.'
Her family said in a statement: “Virginia Giuffre lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking. Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors. Despite all the adversity she faced in her life, she shone so bright. She will be missed beyond measure. The light of her life were her children Christian, Noah, and Emily.
"It was when she held her newborn daughter in her arms that Virginia realised she had to fight back against those who had abused her and so many others. There are no words that can express the grave loss we feel today with the passing of our sweet Virginia. She was heroic and will always be remembered for her incredible courage and loving spirit. In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight. We know that she is with the angels."
Her attorney Sigrid McCawley added: "Virginia was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims. Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring. The world has lost an amazing human being today. Rest in peace, my sweet angel."
In 2021, Giuffre claimed in a lawsuit filed against Prince Andrew in New York that he forced her to have sex with him three times between 1999 and 2002 in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein.
They reached an out-of-court settlement in February 2022 but the amount was not disclosed. Prince Andrew has denied all claims against him.
The settlement included a statement in which he expressed regret for his association with Epstein but contained no admission of liability.
Following news of Virginia's death, a tragic post from her saying she was in "no way" suicidal resurfaced from six years ago.
She was renowned as one of the most outspoken accusers of sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
She shared a worrying post on X in 2019, which has now been shared by several prominent people. In December 2019 Ms Giuffre responded to another X user who posted: "F.B.I. will kill her to protect the ultra rich and well connected."
Ms Giuffre replied and wrote: "I am making it publicly known that in no way, shape or form am I suicidal. I have made this known to my therapist and GP – If something happens to me – in the sake of my family do not let this go away and help me to protect them. Too many evil people want to see me quieted."