Virginia Giuffre, who settled a sexual assault lawsuit against Prince Andrew after alleging she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein to the Royal at 17, has died aged 41.

Her publicist confirmed she died at her home in Australia on Friday (25 April).

“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia. She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking,” her family’s statement said.

It continued: “Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.

“Despite all the adversity she faced in her life, she shone so bright. She will be missed beyond measure.”

Virginia speaking outside US federal court in 2019 (Bloomberg/Getty)

She was a prominent voice speaking out against Jeffrey Epstein, alleging she had been groomed and sexually assaulted by the disgraced financier and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

She settled a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew out of court in 2022. The Duke of York denies all accusations and made no admission of wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Western Australia Police said they were called to a home on Friday night, where Virginia was found unresponsive.

It’s statement said: “The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”

Last month Ms Giuffre was hospitalised following an accident, which gained world attention after she posted her face injuries on Instagram stating she had ‘days to live’.

Her publicist Dini von Mueffling described Giuffre as ‘deeply loving, wise and funny’.

She said: “She adored her children and many animals. She was always more concerned with me than with herself.

“I will miss her beyond words. It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”

Virginia’s publicist spoke about her love for animals (Instagram/virginiarobertsrising11)

She is survived by three children, her family statement said, ‘the light of her life were her children Christian, Noah, and Emily’.

It continued: “It was when she held her newborn daughter in her arms that Virginia realised she had to fight back against those who had abused her and so many others.

“There are no words that can express the grave loss we feel today with the passing of our sweet Virginia.

“She was heroic and will always be remembered for her incredible courage and loving spirit.

“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight. We know that she is with the angels.”

Virginia dedicated herself to supporting survivors of sexual trafficking, after coming forward in the investigation against Jeffrey Epstein and becoming a central voice in his downfall.

Virginia outside court after coming forward against Jeffrey Epstein (Bloomberg/Getty)

Epstein killed himself in August 2019 while awaiting trial on US federal sex trafficking charges involving dozens of teenage girls and young women, some as young as 14.

The charges came 14 years after police in Palm Beach, Florida, first began investigating allegations he sexually abused underage girls who were hired to give him massages.

Following sexual assault accusations against Prince Andrew when she was just 17, in which she sued on multiple charges including battery, rape, and the infliction of emotional distress in a case back in August 2021 – she settled out of court.

Ms Giuffre released a joint statement with Prince Andrew. It read: “Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out of court settlement.

“The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed). Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights.

“Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.

“He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.”

Prince Andrew has denied the claims and has not been charged with any criminal offences.

Her legal team stated that she was a ‘frightened, vulnerable child with no one there to protect her’ at the time of the alleged crimes, further stating that ‘no person, whether President or Prince, is above the law’.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.

A number of high-profile figure were named in the first phase of Jeffrey Epstein files.

Several star-studded names were mentioned in the files, which were released by the US government which was said to be ‘underwhelming’ to many.

Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was found to be a child sex offender, abusing underage girls while providing them to others through his sex trafficking rings in both Florida and New York.

Following his death while in custody back in 2019, members of the public have been curious about what the businessman actually did, and if any celebrities were involved in his illegal activities.

Epstein had committed suicide before facing criminal charges in court, with Donald Trump promising to release the ‘Epstein list’ while he is in office.

This week, US Attorney General Pam Bondi released the first batch of Epstein files, while also accusing the FBI of ‘hiding thousands more pages’.

After releasing the files on Thursday 27 February, Bondi stated: “This Department of Justice is following through on President Trump’s commitment to transparency and lifting the veil on the disgusting actions of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators.

“The first phase of files released today sheds light on Epstein’s extensive network and begins to provide the public with long overdue accountability.”

The documents are the first publicly released files related to the businessman and his sexual exploitation of over 250 underage girls.

Ultimately, nothing new was revealed among the 200-or-so pages across 10 different files released.

A series of flight logs from the sex offender’s private jet was part of this, as well as a partly-redacted ‘contacts list’.

The first phase of files on Epstein’s illegal activities have been released (Neil Rasmus/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

The contacts book is not ‘a client list’ and no one on it is being accused of any wrongdoing, and while people on this list were named, their addresses and contact information were redacted.

So, here’s every big name that was mentioned by the Department of Justice:

Mick Jagger

The Rolling Stones frontman was in Epstein’s contact list (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Alec Baldwin

Baldwin has been in the movie business for decades (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala)

Michael Jackson

The ‘Beat It’ singer passed away in 2009 (Kevork Djansezian-Pool/Getty Images)

Dustin Hoffman

The 87-year-old was part of the businessman’s contact list (Anthony Harvey/FilmMagic)

Ralph Fiennes

Fiennes is best known for playing Voldemort in the Harry Potter film series (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Naomi Campbell

The British model rose to fame in the 90s (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Victoria’s Secret)

Bob Weinstein

Bob (left) is the brother of film producer and convicted sex offender, Harvey Weinstein (right) (Mark Von Holden/Getty Images for Dimension Films)

Liz Hurley

The model and actress made headlines last year for starring in an erotic thriller directed by her son (Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

Other political figures and big names that were also in Epstein’s contacts book

Ivanka Trump

Ivana Trump

Ethel Kennedy (mother of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.)

Late Senator Ted Kennedy

Kerry Kennedy

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

Courtney Love

David Koch

Alan Dershowitz

John Kerry

Jon Hunstman

Donald Trump’s name was not in the contact list.

The majority of these names has previously been reported in previous lawsuits and document leaks to do with Epstein’s case.

A redacted list of 254 masseuses were also released by the Department of Justice, though their names were blacked out, likely because they were Epstein’s victims.

Meanwhile, Bondi has accused the FBI of withholding extra documents from her. She wrote in a public letter: “Late yesterday, I learned from a source that the FBI Field Office in New York was in possession of thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation and indictment of Epstein.”

She gave the bureau a deadline of 8am today (local time) to provide her with the alleged extra pages.

Featured Image Credit: Kypros/Getty Images