Prince Andrew is ‘not surprised’ his accuser Virginia Giuffre claimed she is fighting for her life after a horror car crash in Australia, friends of the estranged royal have said.
The campaigner, who was sex trafficked by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and accused the Duke of York of sexually abusing her when she was 17, revealed on Monday that she has just “days to live” following the collision with a school bus travelling 68mph near her home in Perth.
The 41-year-old shocked supporters when she took to Instagram to share a selfie of her lying on a hospital bed, covered in bruises around her jawline and eyes, and begged to see her three children "one last time".
She also told her 15,000 followers she is suffering from “kidney renal failure” following the incident and was transferred to a specialist hospital in urology.
However, Western Australia Police said the only bus crash they could find on their systems was a “minor” crash in Neergabby, about 12 miles north of Perth, on March 24 which resulted in no injuries. The bus driver has also cast doubts over her version of events.
It also emerged that Ms Giuffre had been charged with breaching a family violence restraining order just days before the crash following reports she had split with her husband Robert after 22 years of marriage.
One friend of Andrew told The Daily Beast: “There is no sense of satisfaction on the Duke’s part at Giuffre’s disgrace.
"If anything it has brought back the sadness the entire family feel that this woman, who he always maintained was a fantasist, was allowed to ruin his life.
"The whole family are completely unsurprised that her alarmist post turned out to be a fabrication.”
Meanwhile, Andrew’s ex-girlfriend Lady Victoria Hervey said she is skeptical of the news, quipping that Ms Giuffre was “the Queen of the fake photo”.
And Ross Munns, who was driving the bus that collided with Ms Giuffre’s car, insists the crash has been "blown out of proportion".
The driver of Virginia's car, caretaker Cheryl Sassela, 71, told the Daily Mail: "I'm sure Virginia will release a statement soon to clear it all up.
"I'm not covering for her. I'm not implicated in a cover up."
A statement from her family on Wednesday said she "looks forward to defending herself".
"Virginia continues to be hospitalised in serious condition," it added.
According to reports, a spokesperson for Ms Giuffre said the Instagram post was a mistake and she had meant to share the post to her private Facebook page.
A previous statement said: "Virginia thanks everyone for the outpouring of love and support.
"She is overwhelmed with gratitude.
"Today she remains in (a) serious condition while receiving medical care.
"On March 24, in rural Western Australia, a school bus hit the car in which she was riding."
It said: "Virginia was banged up and bruised and returned home.
"Virginia's condition worsened and she was admitted to the hospital.
"Concerning her Instagram post, Virginia thought that she had posted on her private Facebook page."
Ms Giuffre first came into the public spotlight when a group of women accused disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse.
Epstein, a convicted sex offender, was arrested in the United States of child sex trafficking but killed himself in a New York prison in 2019 before his trial.
She also accused Prince Andrew, a ‘friend’ of Epstein, of forcing her into sex on three different occasions when she was 17.
Ms Giuffre alleged she was trafficked a year earlier after his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell recruited her from her job as a locker room attendant at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Despite vehemently denying the allegations, the Duke of York paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Ms Giuffre — a woman he claimed never to have met — in 2022.
He also made a substantial donation to her sex trafficking charity Speak Out, Act, Reclaim, which she founded under its previous moniker Victims Refuse Silence in 2015.
The scandal forced the royal family to remove Andrew's military titles and royal patronages. He stepped down from public life in 2020 following an infamous interview on BBC Newsnight.
Epstein’s longtime associate Maxwell reached an undisclosed settlement with Ms Giuffre over a defamation case in 2017. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other crimes in 2021.
