On and on it goes, a fall from grace without end. If there were one lesson for Prince Andrew in the tragic suicide of Virginia Giuffre it is that, far from being freed from the shadow she cast over him in life, her death now binds the two of them more tightly than ever.

The lingering hope that he might in time clear his name over her allegations of sexual abuse – and restore his reputation – is over.

Surely, too, is his dream of rehabilitation by somehow proving to a doubting world that he is innocent of accusations he has always denied.

He will be for ever associated with a photograph that shows him smiling into the camera, his hand around the bare waist of a fresh-faced Ms Giuffre when she was 17.

Of the four major protagonists in this sordid episode, the Duke of York – because of his birthright and because of his status – always had the most to lose and the furthest to fall.

Two of them are dead.

Jeffrey Epstein, the unsavoury ringmaster who, like the tormented Ms Giuffre, took his own life while awaiting trial.

A third, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s enabler who was convicted of child sex trafficking, remains incarcerated serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Ms Giuffre had accused the Duke of York of sexually assaulting her when she was 17 after she was trafficked to London

Before she died, family members had expressed fears over her mental state. Her father Sky Roberts said his daughter was 'very depressed' and 'in really bad shape'. Pictured: Virginia Giuffre centre, with attorneys David Boies, left, and Brad Edwards, right, in 2019

Andrew has his liberty but any resemblance to his former royal life has vanished.

Stripped of his titles and honorary positions, he is a quasi-royal fulfilling no public function. He is the King’s brother, uncle to the heir to the throne.

But removed from any meaningful role such positions might suggest, he still clings to the vestiges of privilege, most prominent of which is his continued occupancy of Royal Lodge, the Windsor mansion he has stubbornly refused to vacate.

Ms Giuffre’s unexpected death is no help to Andrew. Indeed, it could be that it her suicide has made his situation worse.

Among the social media messages posted in reaction to the sad news, many were sympathetic to the woman who never came to terms with the horrific abuse she suffered and which she described herself as being passed around men ‘like fruit on a platter’.

Instead, they have added to the credibility of her story. The prince cannot escape his past.

The saga has hung over him for a quarter of a century, infiltrating every aspect of his life – despite his resolute denial of having sexually assaulted her.

It has struck at his character and questioned his judgment and, above all, it has refused to free him from its grasp.

The lingering scandal was behind his decision to give that now-notorious BBC Newsnight interview where, despite the famous snapshot of the two of them together, he insisted he had ‘no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever’.

Andrews’ alibis and explanations – he was at a Pizza Express in Woking for a children’s birthday party; he was unable to sweat while dancing in a nightclub – were met with national ridicule.

He was condemned for offering no regret for his involvement with Epstein or expressing sympathy for the survivors of abuse.

This misguided attempt to try and win over the court of public opinion rebounded spectacularly as he was forced to ‘step back’ from all official duties.

And his expectation that these would all be returned to him once he had met the challenge of Ms Giuffre’s legal case against him swiftly evaporated.

Ms Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her on three separate occasions – in New York, London and the Caribbean – and launched a civil lawsuit alleging she’d been coerced into having sex with the prince. Andrew has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

But in 2022, Ms Giuffre reached an out-of-court settlement with the duke, thought to be worth somewhere between £3million and £12million, despite his denials and without him admitting liability. The lucrative settlement meant that Ms Giuffre’s claims – the ones that destroyed Andrew’s public reputation – were never tested under cross-examination.

Privately, friends have claimed that Andrew did not want to settle the case but hoped to fight on, that his overriding desire was to clear his name.

Prince Andrew was seen for the first time since his accuser Virginia Giuffre's suicide as he left the Royal Lodge accompanied by his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson yesterday

Ms Giuffre took to social media last month to claim she had severe injuries and just days to live after a crash with a bus 

They believe he’d been persuaded to reach agreement by a cabal of courtiers and senior royals – including the then Prince Charles – who feared endless litigation would damage the monarchy.

But it was also the year of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee and he faced the troubling prospect of his elderly mother’s showpiece jamboree being ruined by a courtroom spectacle.

As a result of the settlement, Andrew became the first member of the Royal Family to effectively be sacked.

In the years since, his position has hardly improved thanks to a string of scandals, the most recent of which concerns his involvement with an alleged Chinese spy.

Yet the prince still nurtured hopes that he would, eventually, resume his old life and the styles and trappings that went with it.

Two things had given him cause for encouragement. The first was in late 2022 when Ms Giuffre dropped her legal action against the leading US lawyer Alan Dershowitz admitting she may have been wrong when she accused the Harvard law professor of having sex with her as a teenager, a claim which he had always angrily denied.

The second came last month when Ms Giuffre amended a social media update in which she posted a picture of herself in hospital claiming she had been injured after a school bus crashed into her car.

Police described the crash as minor with no significant injuries reported.

At the very least, these episodes raised questions about the accuracy of her statements. If they offered little prospect of exoneration for Andrew, they did, together, offer the slim possibility of reassessment.

Or so he hoped. Ms Giuffre’s suicide has changed all that.

The scandal led to Prince Andrew stepping back from royal life after his infamous car-crash BBC interview with Emily Maitlis

‘The door has slammed shut,’ says an old friend of the prince. ‘It is her version of events that will be accepted because now it cannot be challenged.’

So where does that leave the Duke of York and what can he possibly do next?

Some close to him believe that the solution is in his own hands. ‘Giving up Royal Lodge would be a gesture that the public understands,’ says a former member of his circle.

‘His continuing to live there is seen as characterising all that is wrong about him – entitled, arrogant, not listening to the public mood.’

In his eyes Andrew sees such a move as an admission of guilt – and a harsh penalty for something which he denies having done.

‘So much of what the royals do is about responding to opinion outside palace walls,’ said the friend.

‘Like the Queen not the taxpayer paying for the repairs to Windsor Castle and lowering the flag to half-mast after Princess Diana’s death.

‘Often meeting public expectation can be transformational for royal approval ratings.’

Over the weekend, sources close to the duke said that he intends to keep his thoughts on the death of his accuser to himself.

Some, however, believe Ms Giuffre’s passing has presented him with an opportunity to be the man of honour he has always claimed to be.

When he made his settlement with Ms Giuffre, he gave a statement in which he promised to demonstrate his regret for his association with Jeffrey Epstein ‘by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims’.

Critics say there has been no such demonstration or visible support so far.

‘This could be the perfect moment to make good on that pledge,’ says the friend.

Prince Andrew is not an uncaring man, but he is blinkered.

Can he not see that in the short, damaged life of Virginia Giuffre there is a path, if not to redemption, then at least to penance?