Western Australia police have confirmed they will review their interactions with Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, in the days before her death. Ms Giuffre died by suicide at her home in Western Australia in April 2025.
Dispute and Charges Prior to Death
Ms Giuffre was involved in a dispute with her former partner, which led to her being charged with breaching a restraining order. The police commissioner of Western Australia, Col Blanch, stated that the officers' handling of her case will be scrutinised.
In response to a letter from the Giuffre family, Commissioner Blanch confirmed the review during a Parliament hearing on Wednesday. "We respond to over 100,000 family violence incidents every year," he said. "I'd love to give assurance on every single one, but I can't - but that one will be subject to a review."
Commissioner's Assurance on Thorough Review
Speaking outside Parliament, Commissioner Blanch elaborated: "All [officer] interactions will be reviewed" to determine whether proper procedure was followed. "I want to make sure we've done our job properly," he said. "We invest a lot in training of our police officers, we have body-worn video, so our reviews can be quite thorough."
Background of Allegations Against Prince Andrew
Ms Giuffre pursued Prince Andrew through the US civil courts, alleging he sexually assaulted her three times when she was 17. The alleged incidents occurred at Ghislaine Maxwell's home in London, at Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan residence, and on Epstein's private island, Little St James. Prince Andrew has consistently denied all allegations.
In 2022, Prince Andrew reached an out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre, reportedly worth around £12 million. The settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing.
Vindication After Death
Following the release of thousands of documents and photographs by the US Department of Justice linked to Jeffrey Epstein, a contested image showing Prince Andrew with his hand around Ms Giuffre's bare waist at Maxwell's London home was verified as authentic. Ms Giuffre's brother, Sky Roberts, said: "It truly does vindicate Virginia... she was not lying this entire time. It's a moment where we're really proud of our sister."
Her sister, Amanda, added: "I've felt like a moment of such overwhelming emotion because I wish she was here to see this, she fought so hard and so long and she was still so strong."
During his 2019 Newsnight interview, Prince Andrew denied meeting Ms Giuffre and suggested the photograph could have been faked. He has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
