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The Metropolitan Police said it is “actively” looking into media reports that Prince Andrew tried to obtain personal information about his accuser Virginia Giuffre through his police protection.
“We are aware of media reporting and are actively looking into the claims made,” the force said on Sunday.
It comes after Ms Giuffre’s brother called on King Charles III to strip Andrew of his “prince” title, following the announcement he would stop using his other titles.
Prince Andrew has not commented on the reports, but consistently denies all allegations against him. Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
Ms Giuffre, who took her own life earlier this year, said she was among the girls and young women sexually exploited by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his wealthy circle.
She also claimed that she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions, including when she was 17 at the home of his friend Ghislaine Maxwell in London, in 2001.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence on sex-trafficking charges related to Epstein, her former boyfriend.
According to the Mail on Sunday, Andrew asked his police protection officer to investigate her just before the newspaper published a photo of Ms Giuffre’s first meeting with the prince in February 2011.
The paper alleged that he gave the officer her date of birth and confidential social security number.
The Sunday Telegraph also claimed that Andrew “sought to dig up dirt” on Ms Giuffre.
On Friday, Andrew announced that he was voluntarily handing back his titles and giving up membership of the Order of the Garter – the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in Britain.
He will also cease to be the Duke of York, a title received from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The prince had already ceased to be a “working royal” and had lost the use of his HRH title and no longer appeared at official royal events. His role now will be even more diminished.
Andrew has faced a series of scandals over recent years, including making an out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre in 2022, after she had brought a civil case against him.
A posthumous memoir by Ms Giuffre to be released next week is likely to cast further attention on the prince’s involvement with her and Epstein.
In a now-infamous BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, Prince Andrew said that he had severed all links with Epstein after they had been photographed together in New York in December 2010.
But emails sent in February 2011 later emerged suggesting that he had privately stayed in touch with Epstein, including sending a message that read: “Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!”
