Prince Andrew 'not surprised' at accuser Virginia Giuffre's claims as crash riddle continues

is "unsurprised" his accuser claimed she nearly died in a , his friends say.

The saga is said to have caused the Duke of York and his family "sadness" as it has brought back her accusations to the headlines. Ms Giuffre accused the royal of sexually abusing her when she was 17 but Andrew, 65, has always vehemently denied these claims. The duke did, though, following legal action, which left his reputation in tatters.

Since Ms Giuffre's crash, one of Andrew's friend told "There is no sense of satisfaction on the duke’s part at Giuffre’s disgrace. 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."

The source referred to mum-of-three Ms Giuffre's social media post, in which near Perth, Western . The mum, 41, had alleged the vehicle was travelling at 68mph, but this has been questioned by the bus driver himself and . None of the 29 youngsters on the bus were seriously hurt.

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Yet Ms Giuffre, a campaigner originally from Sacramento, California, alleged she had suffered kidney failure and posted a photograph online of her badly bruised face, an injury said to have also been caused in the crash. Police, though, confirmed a 41-year-old woman was involved in a minor car accident with a school bus last week.

Ms Giuffre's family released a statement on Tuesday, saying: "Virginia thanks everyone for the outpouring of love and support. She is overwhelmed with gratitude. Today she remains in serious condition while receiving medical care."

It jars with the comments from the Duke of York's friend, who insisted the royal "always maintained [Ms Giuffre] was a fantasist" throughout the legal action. The woman sued Andrew in 2021, claiming she was trafficked and forced to have sex with the duke on three occasions when she was a teen.

And her former lawyer in the US remains close to the campaigner, and keeps links to the press. Brad Edwards, who represented Ms Giuffre, : "We’re hoping for better news in the coming days," adding it was a "very bad situation" and he hoped she "would pull through with good medical care".