The family of Virginia Giuffre, the late sex trafficking advocate who accused Jeffrey Epstein and former Prince Andrew of abuse, has praised King Charles III’s decision to remove his brother Prince Andrew’s remaining royal titles.

“Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage,” Giuffre’s family said in a statement late Thursday.

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Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, told the BBC that he supported the king’s move but that Andrew should face further investigation for the rape accusations that Giuffre levelled against him.

“We need to take it one more step further: He needs to be behind bars, period,” Roberts said.

Buckingham Palace said Thursday the king had “initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew”, a rare move that will eject him from his royal quarters and change his title to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

The palace has faced mounting questions over the former prince’s relationship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender accused of abusing hundreds of girls before his 2019 death in a New York jail cell.

Epstein was a fixture of elite New York and international circles, with links to high-flying figures including the UK’s now-sacked US ambassador, United States President Donald Trump and Andrew.

Giuffre, an American who died by suicide in April at the age of 41, was one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers. She said Andrew raped her on three occasions, including when she was underage, after Epstein trafficked her from Mar-a-Lago at age 16.

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In 2022, Andrew paid millions of dollars to settle a civil sexual assault case with Giuffre. That year, he was stripped of most of his titles and removed from royal duties.

Still, the release of Giuffre’s posthumous memoir earlier this month, which details grisly abuse at the hands of Epstein and others, led the palace to go further: Days before the book was set to go out, Andrew said he would give up the title of the Duke of York.

The memoir mentions Andrew 88 times, UK publication The Independent reported.

“I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life,” Andrew said in a statement at the time, in which he also “vigorously” denied the rape accusations.

As other survivors press the US government for more transparency into the Epstein case, some US lawmakers, including Republicans, have suggested Andrew face prosecution for potential crimes committed on US soil.

The former prince has not been charged with any crimes.