The family of Virginia Giuffre, known for her allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, is gearing up for a courtroom showdown to determine the rightful heirs to her substantial estate.
Giuffre tragically took her own life at her farm near Perth, Australia, in April, leaving behind an estate without a will, thus making the fate of her considerable wealth uncertain.
Aged 41, Giuffre accumulated a significant fortune through compensation and settlements from civil lawsuits. These were related to claims that she had been trafficked by Ghislaine Maxwell to Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew.
One notable settlement came from Mountbatten-Windsor himself, reportedly amounting to £12 million. This payment, made in 2022, was to resolve a civil lawsuit without admitting liability.
It is believed that the late Queen Elizabeth II contributed to this payment, while Andrew has persistently denied any wrongdoing in connection to these allegations.
Additionally, Giuffre received $500,000 from Epstein in 2009 as part of a settlement over sex trafficking and abuse claims. In 2017, she also secured an undisclosed settlement from Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in the United States.
Under spousal inheritance laws in Western Australia, Ms Giuffre’s husband Robert Giuffre will be entitled to a lump sum and a third of the remaining estate.
However, it has been reported that Ms Giuffre emailed her lawyer to say she did not want him to have any of her money after he initiated divorce proceedings two months before she died.
Virginia Giuffre pictured with brother Sky Roberts (left) and half-brother Daniel Scott Wilson
A court battle is set to unfold over whether Ms Giuffre’s estranged husband Robert (pictured) can claim her fortune
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is seen out on a ride at Windsor Castle earlier this week
Prior to her death, Ms Giuffre became estranged from her husband, who remains at her $2.5million beachside home in Western Australia – one of four properties she owned, including the farmhouse in Neergabby.
She had alleged that he had become controlling, and it was later claimed that he was responsible for an assault that put her in hospital in January.
‘Robert’s behavior became more controlling,’ she claimed in private diaries. ‘The stronger I became, the scarier he became.’
But Mr Giuffre was later granted a restraining order against his wife, and was given temporary custody of their younger children.
Last month, he declined to answer questions from a Daily Mail reporter in Australia on the future of her estate. His lawyers have declined to comment on the abuse allegations, citing ongoing court proceedings.
Her younger brother, Sky Roberts, and half-brother Danny Wilson have hired a lawyer to oppose his claim; they are also said to want to control her charity for sex trafficking survivors Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR).
Several million dollars of Andrew’s payout were pledged to SOAR, but are still being held in a bank account controlled by a third party, as the Mail reported in August.
But Ms Giuffre’s paternal aunt, Kimberly Roberts, says that her family does not believe the brothers have a claim to the money.
She told the Telegraph: ‘We don’t believe they have a right to it. The estate should go to her children only.’
Her sons Christian, 19, and Noah, 18, had made a bid to take control of the administration of her estate in June this year.
But on Monday, Western Australia’s Supreme Court appointed lawyer Ian Torrington Blatchford to take interim control of the estate, the Guardian reported, following a legal challenge by Giuffre’s lawyer Karrie Louden and housekeeper Cheryl Myers.
It means several challenges to her estate can go ahead, as well as other civil cases including a defamation suit brought by Rina Oh, who claims Ms Giuffre made her out to be an accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein rather than one of his victims.
Andrew and Epstein together in 2010. The ex-prince is facing calls to testify in the US over his relationship with the sex predator
Virginia Giuffre (centre) with Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell. She was 17 at the time, and claims Jeffrey Epstein took the photograph
Ms Giuffre’s posthumous book, Nobody’s Girl, was published in October (pictured)
The court orders also state that Mr Blatchford is authorised as her legal personal representative with regards to her memoir, Nobody’s Girl, which was published in October and hailed by the Mail’s Jan Moir for its immediate impact on Andrew’s legacy after his royal titles were stripped away.
It included allegations that her father, Sky Roberts, molested and raped her as a child. Mr Roberts has denied the claim – and maintains that his daughter did not commit suicide.
He claimed on Piers Morgan Uncensored earlier this year, prior to the book’s publication: ‘There’s no way that she committed suicide… somebody got to her.’
Western Australia Police say her death is not being treated as suspicious.
This week, the vast majority of Brits said Andrew should travel to the US to testify before Congress over his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019.
YouGov polling showed 75 per cent of people believe Mr Mountbatten-Windsor should tell US lawmakers what he knows of Epstein’s history.
Despite saying in his disastrous Newsnight interview that he would help investigators, Andrew has yet to respond to calls to testify.
The Prime Minister has added his voice to calls for Andrew to keep to his word, saying: ‘Anybody who has got relevant information in relation to these kind of cases should give that evidence to those that need it.’
