Virginia Giuffre Family's Emotional Statement After Prince Andrew Stripped of Title: 'Today, She Declares Victory' By KC Baker and Liz McNeil

Virginia Guiffre’s family has reacted to Prince Andrew being stripped of his royal titles amid ongoing uproar over his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — calling the unprecedented move by King Charles a “victory.”

On Thursday, Oct. 30, Buckingham Palace announced that Andrew, 65, will no longer be known as Prince or His Royal Highness, among other titles.

“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew,” the palace said, adding that he will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

He will also lose his living arrangements at Royal Lodge in Windsor, PEOPLE previously reported.

The stunning announcement comes after the Oct. 21 release of Giuffre’s explosive posthumous book, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, in which she detailed the three times she was allegedly made to have sex with the former royal when she was just 17 years old.

The outspoken Epstein victim, who died by suicide earlier this year at 41, wrote that she was introduced to Andrew by Ghislaine Maxwell — now a convicted sex offender serving out a 20-year prison sentence — and Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

In reaction to the news about Andrew, Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, and his wife, Amanda Roberts, issued a statement to PEOPLE, saying: “Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.”

“Virginia Roberts Giuffre, our sister, a child when she was sexually assaulted by Andrew, never stopped fighting for accountability for what had happened to her and to countless other survivors like her,” the statement continues.

“Today, she declares victory.”

Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

In 2022, he reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre, which included a statement in which he expressed regret for his association with Epstein, but contained no admission of liability or apology, per the BBC.

In her memoir, Giuffre detailed how she met Andrew on March 10, 2001, in Maxwell’s London home and recalled posing for a now-infamous picture with him taken on her Kodak FunSaver.

After going out to dinner and dancing at a club, Maxwell allegedly told her, “When we get home, you are to do for him what you do for Jeffrey,” she wrote.

“Back at the house, Maxwell and Epstein said goodnight and headed upstairs, signaling it was time that I take care of the prince. In the years since, I’ve thought a lot about how he behaved. He was friendly enough, but still entitled – as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright.”

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The third time she claimed she was made to have sex with Andrew was with Epstein and eight other young girls on the 72-acre island Epstein owned in the U.S. Virgin Islands, she wrote.

Andrew was a prince and since birth had been known as His Royal Highness as the son of then-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth. He was given the title of Duke of York, which is how he was largely known, by his late mother on his wedding day to Sarah Ferguson in 1986.

On Friday, Oct. 17, Andrew announced that he would give up the use of his royal titles and other titles and honors amid renewed interest in his relationship to Epstein. However, he retained the titles at the time and was still known as Prince Andrew, PEOPLE previously reported.

Andrew stepped back from his public royal role in 2019 following his controversial BBC interview in which he discussed his relationship with Epstein.

Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice debuted on Oct. 21.

Giuffre’s family says that they, along with Virginia’s “survivor sisters,” will continue her battle and “will not rest until the same accountability applies to all of the abusers and abettors connected to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.