'Virginia Giuffre's suicide won’t relieve the pressure on Prince Andrew ... it will have an opposite effect,' say royal experts

Prince Andrew will need to 'show he has genuine regrets' if he wants to return to duties as a working royal following the death of Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, experts have claimed.

The 41-year-old, born Virginia Roberts, died by suicide at her farm in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Western Australia, on Friday night.

Ms Giuffre was one of the most prominent victims of the late paedophile, who killed himself while awaiting trial in a US prison in 2019, and called for charges to be brought against him.

She also claimed she was sexually abused by Prince Andrew at the behest of Epstein's associate, jailed British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, when she was just 17.

The Duke of York agreed to an out-of-court a settlement reportedly worth around £12 million after Ms Giuffre alleged Epstein trafficked her across the world to have sex with the prince. He has denied ever having sex with her and the settlement did not involve any admission of liability.

The scandal was bought back into the international spotlight last month, when Ms Giuffre took to social media to claim she had severe injuries and just days to live after a crash with a bus.

But questions were later raised about the credibility of the post, which Ms Giuffre claimed was a mistake and meant to share to her private Facebook page, after police described the crash as minor and said no significant injuries were reported.

Royal experts believe the Prince will only face further turmoil in the wake of her death and claimed that he will need to show he has 'genuine regrets' if he ever wants to play a public role again.

Author and journalist Tom Bower told MailOnline: 'Virginia Giuffre’s death won’t relieve the pressure on Prince Andrew but have an opposite effect.

'People will feel even more sympathy for the woman whose abominable treatment by Epstein and Maxwell tormented her to this sad end.'

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams added: 'The tragic death of Virginia Giuffre marks the end of a life which was scarred by the abuse she suffered.

'Recent events, when she was supposedly involved in a car crash, raised questions over her state of mind. Her suicide is especially sad as she was a survivor of abuse.

'There are several problems for Andrew if he has any hope of rehabilitation or of appearing at any royal event other than one held in a church.

'Firstly the way he has handled the accusations against him has been so unbelievably cataclysmic that, in opinion polls, his support hardly exists.

'No one has forgotten the interview on Newsnight that was so catastrophic, that the English language lacks words to describe its ghastliness adequately.

Source: Daily Mail