This week, it was announced that Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse, had died by suicide aged 41, according to her family. Virginia, described by ‘a fierce warrior’ by family and friends, was one of the most prominent accusers of convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

She alleged they trafficked her to Prince Andrew when she was 17, a claim which he has denied. In 2019, Prince Andrew claimed to have ‘no recollection of ever meeting this lady.’

Now, one of Prince Andrew’s ex-girlfriends is facing a backlash online for a post she shared following Virginia’s death. Lady Victoria Hervey, 48, shared a link to an NBC News article reporting the campaigner’s death to her Instagram story shortly after the news broke. In the caption, she wrote ‘When lies catch up with you there’s no way out.’

The post generated backlash online, with social media users branding her ‘sick’ and ‘despicable.’ Shortly afterwards, Lady Victoria backtracked, and took to Instagram to call Virginia’s suicide ‘tragic.’

She reportedly wrote on Instagram: ‘I have taken the decision to pause my posts on the topic of Virginia Giuffre at the this time. Irrespective of circumstances, suicide in anyone at anytime is tragic and in a young mother who has children even more.’

Lady Victoria is a British aristocrat and model who began dating Prince Andrew in 1999 and has spoken out to defend him on several occasions in recent years. She is the daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bristol and sister to the 7th and 8th Marquesses and was a regular in glossy magazine pages in the 90s. Now, she splits her time between London and Florida. Alongside Prince Andrew, she has also been linked to Boyzone’s Shane Lynch.

Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson in 1986 and was made Duke of York, and the pair have two daughters, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie. They split in 1992 after six years together but have remained close in the decades since.

In an interview with The Telegraph this year, Victoria explained she wasn’t as close to Prince Andrew as she once was, but she is in contact with Sarah. 

Earlier this year, Virginia posted images of her bruised body following a crash with a bus, which she claimed left her with life-threatening injuries. She described the accident in an Instagram post, writing that the crash was so severe that her car ‘might as well be a tin can.’ She added: ‘I’m ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time,’ seemingly alluding to her three children.’ It remains unclear where and when the crash occurred. At the time, both the Western Australia police and ambulance services told the BBC they had no records of such an accident happening in recent weeks.

When news of Virginia’s accident broke, Lady Victoria took to Instagram to claim that Virginia was ‘the Queen of the fake photo,’ seeming to allude to the now infamous picture of Virginia with the Prince. ‘Generally when you’re dying you’re not thinking about posting a selfie, you’re actually dying,’ she said. She also reposted the picture of Virginia with a bruised face with the word ‘karma’ written over it.

 After Virginia’s death in Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living at the time, Virginia’s relatives released a statement. They said she had been a ‘fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse,’ and that the ‘toll of abuse… became unbearable.’ They said: ‘She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking,’ describing her ‘as the light that lifted so many survivors.’ They continued: ‘Despite all the adversity she faced in her life, she shone so bright. She will be missed beyond measure. The light of her life were her children Christian, Noah, and Emily.’

In a statement, Virginia’s long-time spokesperson Dini von Mueffling described her as ‘one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know,’ saying she was a ‘beacon to other survivors and victims’ and that ‘it was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.’

She continued: ‘Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring. The world has lost an amazing human being today. Rest in peace, my sweet angel.’

Prince Andrew reached an out of court settlement with Virginia in 2022, which included a statement in which he expressed regret for his association with Epstein but contained no admission of liability or apology. The scandal led Andrew to be stripped of his military roles and the title ‘His Royal Highness.’ He later said he regretted his association with Epstein, and that he would make a ‘substantial donation’ to Virginia’s charity.