The Duke of York’s accuser Virginia Giuffre is expected to publish her own memoir after reportedly signing a deal worth “millions”, sources claim, but the book could “backfire” and make the public feel sorry for the royal instead, a PR expert told Express.co.uk. Prince Andrew’s reputation is “already in tatters” and the public feels as if he is already being punished enough, they claimed.
He said: “In public relations, kicking a dog when it’s down can backfire.
“With regards to Prince Andrew, his reputation is already in tatters and cannot get any worse than it already is (barring some extraordinarily egregious behaviour or comments on his part).
“The public already feels he is getting punished enough by being kept in the background of most royal events. Virginia Giuffre, therefore, can’t do any more damage to his reputation than she already has.
“As a result, unless Giuffre’s memoir reveals something more egregious than what the public already knows (which is unlikely), the public will merely see the publishing of her memoir around King Charles’ coronation as a ‘money-grab’ on her part – an effort to profit off the scandal.
“This will most likely turn public sentiment against her and create some sympathy for Andrew.”
Ms Giuffre is reportedly set to release a memoir just one year after agreeing to a multimillion-dollar settlement with Prince Andrew in her US civil lawsuit brought against the royal, which he vehemently denies.
It is not known which publisher has gained the rights to Giuffre’s story, but the New York Post reported that multiple sources confirmed the book deal is going ahead.
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Should Ms Giuffre release a book, Mr Almonte said the best course of action for the Firm to take would be similar to how they responded to the recent release of Prince Harry’s explosive memoir.
He said: “The best course of action for the Royal Family is to ‘take the high road’ and simply say, ‘no comment’.
“The less they say, the less likely they are to say the ‘wrong thing’ and the less impact Giuffre’s memoir will have on them or Andrew. Silence, in this case, is golden.”
In February, Andrew reached an out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre to avoid a civil court case, without admission of liability.
She had been suing the Duke, claiming he sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17. Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations and the undisclosed sum was not an admission of liability.
It is believed that the memoir will be a vessel for her to convey the allegations against Epstein.
Pages from a document — referred to as Giuffre’s “memoir” — were first unsealed in August 2019 amid court records related to her lawsuit against now-convicted sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The 139-page expose, entitled “The Billionaire’s Playboy Club,” included details about Giuffre’s life as a teenager inside Epstein’s alleged sex ring, where she claimed she was forced to have sex with Epstein and Maxwell on command.
