Prince Andrew’s team tried to hire internet trolls to “hassle” his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, she said in her posthumous memoir.

The allegations come as the UK’s Metropolitan Police say they are looking into claims Andrew passed Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to his bodyguard in a bid to dig up dirt for a smear campaign.

Pressure is growing on the royal family to go further by backing a move to formally strip Andrew of his dukedom through parliamentary legislation, after he relinquished use of his Duke of York title last week.

Giuffre, in her book Nobody’s Girl, which released on Tuesday, described how she dressed in outfits that reminded her of her idols Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera to first meet Andrew when she was 17.

She was pictured in the “pink V-necked, sleeveless mini T-shirt and a sparkly, multicoloured pair of jeans embroidered with a pattern of interlocking horses” in the famous photo showing the then-duke with his arm around her waist at Ghislaine Maxwell’s London flat in March 2001.

Giuffre alleged, which Prince Andrew vehemently denies, that she was forced to have sex with the prince on three occasions, including when she was 17, after being trafficked by pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew paid millions to Giuffre to settle a civil sexual assault case, despite claiming never to have met her.

Giuffre also described how he hid behind “the well-guarded gates” of Balmoral Castle, making it difficult for her lawyers to serve him with papers.

“After casting doubt on my credibility for so long — Prince Andrew’s team had even gone so far as to try to hire internet trolls to hassle me — the Duke of York owed me a meaningful apology as well,” she wrote of her 2022 legal settlement with Andrew.

“We would never get a confession, of course. That’s what settlements are designed to avoid. But we were trying for the next best thing: a general acknowledgment of what I’d been through.”

Giuffre described how she took part in two days of mediation, and her lawyer read the duke’s agreed settlement statement at 2.30am Florida time “through tears, both hers and mine”.

Giuffre, who died by suicide in Australia in April, wrote an email to her co-writer Amy Wallace at the start of that month shortly after being involved in a car crash.

She said it was her “heartfelt wish that this work be published, regardless of my circumstances at the time”, and that it was still to be released in the event of her death.

“The content of this book is crucial, as it aims to shed light on the systemic failures that allow the trafficking of vulnerable individuals across borders,” she said in the email.

“In the event of my passing, I would like to ensure that Nobody’s Girl is still released. I believe it has the potential to impact many lives and foster necessary discussions about these grave injustices,” Giuffre added.

The book also told how the prince insisted Giuffre sign a one-year gag order at the time of the settlement to prevent tarnishing the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Giuffre said Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight was like an “injection of jet fuel” for her legal team.

The Mail On Sunday reported that Andrew embarked on a bid to smear Giuffre.

He is said to have emailed the late Queen’s then-deputy press secretary Ed Perkins and told him of his request to his protection officer, and also suggested Giuffre had a criminal record.

Separately, the co-author of Guiffre’s memoir said she would have viewed Prince Andrew relinquishing use of his Duke of York title as a victory.

Andrew announced last week he had given up use of his royal titles and honours amid intensified focus on his links with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Co-writer of Nobody’s Girl, Amy Wallace, told the BBC that she could speak for Giuffre on the subject of Andrew stopping using his titles.

“I know that she would view it as a victory that he was forced by whatever means to voluntarily give them up,” Wallace said.

“It’s made history, modern history, in terms of the royal era.

“Virginia wanted all the men who she’d been trafficked to against her will to be held to account and this is just one of the men but… even though he continues to deny it his life is being eroded because of his past behaviour as it should be.”

Prince Andrew continues to deny ever meeting Virginia Giuffre.

Meanwhile, Giuffre’s brother and sister-in-law have called for a review of the Metropolitan Police’s decision not to continue its investigations into her allegations against Prince Andrew.

Sky and Amanda Roberts say Giuffre had been “gaslit” by the police and authorities in both the UK and US which was a “kick in the stomach” for her.

They called for the Met Police to reopen their investigation into Giuffre’s allegation that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was aged 17, an allegation he vehemently denies.

And they said if the London police force would not take action, they felt the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) should review the decision.

Speaking on Channel 4’s podcast The Fourcast, Sky Roberts said his sister continually asked: “What is it going to take for people to finally believe me?”

He added: “By continuously being gaslit by the UK government, the UK Metropolitan Police, the US government here, it was just a kick in the stomach.”

When asked if she felt the issue should be referred to the police watchdog, Roberts’ wife, Amanda, replied: “Absolutely.”

She said in the US the issue had been elevated from the Department of Justice to the House of Representatives and added: “So every branch of government needs to take this seriously.”

The IOPC would not comment on the case but a spokesman explained that its role was to investigate referrals if a complaint was made to a police force that fulfilled appropriate criteria.

In a statement to Channel 4 News, the Metropolitan Police said: “In 2015 we were made aware of allegations around non-recent trafficking for sexual exploitation.

“This related to events outside the UK and an allegation of trafficking to central London in March 2001.

“Following the legal advice, it was clear that any investigation into human trafficking would be largely focused on activities and relationships outside the UK.

“Officers therefore concluded that the Met was not the appropriate authority to conduct inquiries in these circumstances and, in November 2016, a decision was made that this matter would not proceed to a full criminal investigation.

“In November 2019, the Met confirmed that it would remain unchanged.”

In the interview, Amanda Roberts questioned Prince Andrew’s motivation for reportedly asking his personal security officer to dig up dirt on Giuffre.

“Why would you need to go through those lengths if you’re not guilty?”

Sky Roberts also criticised the UK and US governments for their inaction calling it “one of the biggest international cover ups in the history of the world”.

“It’s a sex trafficking ring that essentially went on for decades without any account to any of these men, really any investigation.

“And so we won’t stop until justice is served because I mean, one, she protected me when I was a kid and she’s protecting your daughters.

“I loved my sister and I hope she’s proud.”

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