Virginia Giuffre‘s estranged husband has been spotted in public as mystery surrounds what will happen to the reported $24.5million (£12million) Prince Andrew donated to the sex trafficking victim and her charity after her death.
This week, six months after she took her own life, Ms Giuffre’s tell-all memoir, Nobody’s Girl, was published, in which she detailed her three alleged sexual encounters with Andrew and years as a sex slave to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew has always denied sex with Ms Giuffre, but agreed to an out-of-court settlement in February 2022 worth a reported $24.5million, and, Ms Giuffre claimed, ‘his mother, the Queen of England, had (reportedly) footed the bill’.
As part of the deal, the Prince also donated $4million (£2million) to Ms Giuffre’s proposed sex trafficking charity, Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (known as SOAR). The organisation was not thought to have been officially registered with the US Internal Revenue Service, the US government agency that grants charities tax-exempt status.
It is unclear what, exactly, happens to those funds in the wake of Ms Giuffre’s suicide. She took her own life on April 25 at her $1.3million farmhouse in Neergabby, near Perth, Australia’s westernmost city, after family said the ‘toll…became unbearable’.
While it is not known if Ms Giuffre left a will, it appears unlikely, with court records showing the matter is currently before the Supreme Court of Western Australia as an Application for Letters of Administration.
Such orders are granted to those seeking to manage or benefit from a deceased estate where no will has been located.
Any parties hoping to claim a share must provide evidence of their entitlement, and legal experts warn complex disputes of this kind can drag on for years.
Robert Giuffre, Virginia Giuffre’s little-seen estranged husband, broke cover in his home city of Perth, Western Australia on Wednesday
Mr Giuffre was seen clutching a large Express Post envelope and was dressed in white runners, jeans and a T-shirt
Mr Giuffre declined to comment on a series of questions, simply telling the Mail to ‘get going’
The couple were married for 22 years but separated at the time of her death
The Daily Mail sought to ask Ms Giuffre’s estranged husband of 22 years, Robert, about the future of the settlement funds on Wednesday.
Robert and Virginia were separated at the time of her death. Mr Giuffre remains in the family’s $2.5million beachside mansion with the couple’s three children.
Following Ms Giuffre’s death, her body was transferred to the state mortuary for a post-mortem examination before being released to Mr Giuffre, who had her cremated.
Her ashes have since been collected from Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park in Perth, Australia’s westernmost city.
Some loved ones claimed they were shunned from the funeral, unable to pay their final respects, and have been kept in the dark about her finances.
Mr Giuffre, who has always kept a low profile throughout his wife’s high-profile legal battles, appeared relaxed in jeans and a T-shirt and was seen clutching a large Express Post envelope.
He declined to comment on his wife’s newly printed allegations, the precise location of the charity funds or the opening up of a fresh family rift in the Giuffre clan when approached by Daily Mail.
Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of the millions Prince Andrew donated to sex trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre ‘s charity
Prince Andrew has always denied having sex with Ms Giuffre but agreed to an out-of-court settlement
Ghislaine Maxwell (right) is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role recruiting and trafficking minors with Jeffrey Epstein (left)
Nobody’s Girl was published this week, six months after Virginia Giuffre took her own life
While he is legally Ms Giuffre’s next of kin, Daily Mail understands her family in the US have planned to make a claim on her estate.
‘It’s absolutely devastating,’ a close source said.
‘We are disgusted. No funeral, no notice to anyone. It’s so disrespectful to Virginia that her life wasn’t even worth a funeral.
‘He is so selfish that he wouldn’t let anyone else hold one either.
‘Her family in the US wanted to attend, as would so many other people who loved her, but nobody was told what is going on.’
Since her death Ms Giuffre’s brother and sister-in-law have fought tirelessly for justice for her and other survivors.
Earlier this week both Sky and Amanda Roberts publicly pleaded with the Royal Family to reopen the investigation into Prince Andrew.
Virginia’s brother Sky Roberts and his wife Amanda did not attend her funeral
‘This is an acknowledgement to her, it’s an acknowledgement to her survivor sisters,’ Mr Roberts said during an interview.
‘But I think we need to reopen investigations, I think the UK, law enforcement have documentation that supports being able to bring people to justice.
‘Including Prince Andrew. And I do believe that just because you have the word ‘Prince’ in front of your name, doesn’t mean there is a difference set of laws for you.
‘Everybody needs to be held to the same standard, and to that account because I truly do believe that if Prince wasn’t in front of his name, that he would be behind bars right now, truthfully.’
The couple previously set up a GoFundMe to help victims explaining they needed donations to build a public memorial dedicated to Ms Giuffre’s memory, despite her multi-million dollar estate.
Ms Giuffre’s sister-in-law, Amanda Roberts, revealed that Ms Giuffre’s remaining money and property, including the family’s beach mansion and farm, would take ‘years’ to divide in a drawn-out legal process.
The GoFundMe has since been closed down however it had only raised $1,235 of the $15,000 target.
Western Australia law states that siblings and friends are not eligible to contest a will unless they were financially dependent on the deceased.
Spouses, even if separated, children and parents are entitled to make claims.
‘Legally Robert is her next of kin, but it’s not as simple as that, not in any way,’ said the family friend.