Prince Andrew is ‘completely unsurprised’ at his sex assault accuser Virginia Giuffre’s claims she nearly died in a bus crash, friends of the royal have said.
Ms Giuffre – who has said the Duke of York abused her when she was 17 – posted a bruised selfie on Sunday, saying the crash caused renal failure and she had four days to live.
But doubts quickly emerged, with police saying there were no injuries and bus driver Ross Munns insisting: ‘It’s just all blown out of proportion.’
Parents of some of the children involved have also spoken out to back Mr Munns’ version of events, saying ‘the whole story is sick’.
A spokesman for Ms Giuffre admitted she ‘made a mistake’ and was not dying.
‘Virginia thanks everyone for the outpouring of love and support,’ they added. ‘She remains in serious condition while receiving medical care.’
After the crash ‘Virginia was banged up and bruised and returned home,’ they added.
‘Her condition worsened, and she was admitted to the hospital. Concerning her Instagram post, Virginia thought that she had posted on her private Facebook page.’
A friend of Prince Andrew has said ‘there is no sense of satisfaction on the duke’s part at Giuffre’s disgrace’.
They told The Daily Beast: ‘If anything, it has brought back the sadness the entire family feel that this woman, who he always maintained was a fantasist, was allowed to ruin his life.
‘The whole family are completely unsurprised that her alarmist post turned out to be a fabrication.’
In her initial post, Ms Giuffre had written: ‘I’m ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time.’
Then it emerged the mum-of-three had been charged with breaching a family violence restraining order and was due to appear at Perth magistrates’ court.
She has split with her Australian husband Robert after 22 years and had left their £1.6million beachfront home. She was barred from seeing her teenage daughter and two sons.
In 2022, Prince Andrew agreed to pay Ms Giuffre’s charity £12million to end her civil case for damages.
The scandal cost him his Royal Highness title.
He vehemently denies her claims.
In 2017, she settled another case against his paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in jail two years later.
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