The woman embroiled in one of the biggest sex scandals to have rocked the royal family in decades is reportedly living a well-to-do life in a gated community in Cairns, Queensland.
When she was just 17, Virginia Roberts, now known as Virginia Giuffre, was photographed alongside Prince Andrew – an image believed to be taken in the Belgravia terrace of Epstein’s then-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell in 2001.
The seemingly innocent snap has become the defining image of the long-running drama that led to Prince Andrew being forced to take a step back from his royal duties and public life for the “foreseeable future”.
Virginia claims now at 36-years-old she was recruited as an underage sex slave and forced to engage in sexual activities with Prince Andrew three times between 1999 and 2002.
The Duke of York has vehemently denied claims he had sex with the then-teenager, and also says he doesn’t remember meeting her.
Jeffrey Epstein, 66, was found dead in his New York jail cell in August while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Now, Virginia is set to share her side of the story BBC’s Panorama programme that was filmed before Prince Andrew’s Newsnight interview went to air.
Despite being apart of one of the most highly publicised alleged sex trafficking cases in the world, Mrs Giuffre has managed to live a relatively peaceful life in a quiet community in Cairns, with her husband Robert and their three children.
Since her name and pictures made headlines around the world for having a connection with both Epstein and royalty, Virginia has been photographed out shopping or on school runs in Cairns.
Locals in the area have described both she and her husband as “lovely.”
“They’re both lovely, especially her,” a bartender at a local pub told Woman’s Day.
“I can’t believe she’s involved with all that. It just goes to show that you never know anything about people.”
Mrs Giuffre claims she was recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s girlfriend in 2001, at the age of 15 while working at the Mar-a-Lago spa in Florida.
She claims the pair allegedly took her on a trip to New York, where they trained her to be “everything a man wanted me to be”.
“Over the next few weeks, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trained me to do what they wanted, including sexual activities and the use of sexual toys,” she alleged in the documents.
“The training was in New York and Florida, at Epstein’s mansions. It was basically every day and was like going to school. I also had to have sex with Epstein many times.”
Mrs Giuffre is just one of a few alleged victims who have come forward and claimed she was used by Epstein for sexual purposes until she turned 19, and consequently became “too old” for him.
The court papers allege during those years she was taken on trips around the world and given to men for sexual purposes.
Mrs Giuffre claims she met Prince Andrew, a friend of Epstein’s, in London in 2001 when she was 17.
The infamous photo of both Prince Andrew and Virginia is believed to have been taken in Belgravia, London at the home of Ghislaine Maxwell in 2001.
However, the Duke of York said in a recent interview with BBC Newsnight, he had no recollection with ever meeting her.
“I don’t remember meeting her at all. I do not remember the photograph being taken and I’ve said consistently and frequently that we never had any sexual contact whatever,” he said.
“I’m at a loss to explain this particular photograph.”
The royal further said he did not have sex with Virginia on the night in question, as he was taking his daughter, Princess Beatrice, for pizza.
He explaineds during the interview he wasn’t in Tramp nightclub as she alleged and couldn’t have been sweating because he had a medical condition after suffering from adrenalin overload in the Falklands War.
Following the death of Jeffrey Epstein, Mrs Giuffre has urged Prince Andrew to “come clean”, and said he needs to “stop with all of these lame excuses”.
Close friends of the royal claim the picture was “doctored,” with sources suggesting his fingers look “too chubby” for it to be him.
“This photo has been verified as an original and it’s been since given to the FBI and they’ve never contested that it’s a fake. I know it’s real,’ she said.
“He needs to stop with all of these lame excuses. We’re sick of hearing it. This is a real photo. That’s the very first time I met him.”
A BBC interview with Mrs Giuffre will air on December 2, where she will lay out her side of the story when it comes to allegations about Prince Andrew.
