Prince Andrew has settled a lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre. Virginia Giuffre claims that Prince Andrew was sexually trafficked to her second-oldest child by financier Jeffrey Epstein.
According to a New York court filing, the deal was reached Tuesday. It avoids another trial that could have caused further embarrassment for the monarchy. The deal calls for the prince of Monaco to make a significant donation to the charity of the accuser, while stating that he never intended to denigrate her character.
Attorney David Boies, who represents Giuffre, informed the judge that a settlement in principle has been reached and that he’ll request a dismissal of the lawsuit within a month.
Prince Andrew’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Boies signed the letter, stating that lawyers wanted to ask the judge for a suspension of deadlines and to place the case on hold.
Andrew was sued in August by Giuffre. The American accused him of sexually abusing her while she travelled with financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew vigorously denied Giuffre’s allegations and tried to have the lawsuit dismissed.
Boies included a statement that stated: “Virginia Giuffre, Prince Andrew have reached an outside court settlement. After Ms. Giuffre receives the settlement, the parties will file a specified dismissal. [the sum of which is not being disclosed].
“Prince Andrew will make a substantial contribution to Ms. Giuffre’s charity supporting victims’ rights. Prince Andrew did not intend to make any disparaging remarks about Ms. Giuffre. He acknowledges that she was abused and has been subject to unfair public attacks.
According to the statement Prince Andrew admitted that Epstein had trafficked “numbers of young girls” over many decades. He also said that he regretted his association with Epstein, and that he “regrets his association and commends Ms. Giuffre’s bravery in standing up for others.”
WATCH Virginia Giuffre insists that she was forced by Prince Andrew to have sex.| Virginia Giuffre claims she was forced to have sex in public with Prince Andrew:
Virginia Giuffre spoke out in a BBC interview about being forced to have sexual relations with Prince Andrew by Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced American financier. 1:58
As a sign of his regret, he also promised to support victims of sextrafficking.
The tentative settlement was reached weeks after Judge Lewis A. Kaplan denied the prince’s request to dismiss the lawsuit early. This means that depositions and other evidence gathering can begin.
Andrew’s Fallout
After Kaplan ruled, Andrew — who had already stepped back from royal duties — was stripped of his honorary military titles and roles and leadership of various charities, known as royal patronages. He also can no longer use the title “his royal highness” in official settings.
This was done to protect the House of Windsor against the negative consequences of potentially many years of headlines, if the suit moves forward.
“With the Queen’s approval and agreement the Duke of York’s military affiliations & Royal patronages have been restituted to the Queen,” the palace stated at the time using the formal title of the prince. “The Duke of York will not continue to perform any public duties and is defending the case as a private citizen.”
Buckingham Palace’s statement on The Duke of York pic.twitter.com/OCeSqzCP38
This was after over 150 veterans and members of the armed services asked the Queen to remove her second son from his military titles. They claimed that he had not lived up to the “very high standards of probity and honesty” that are expected from British officers.
Giuffre stated that Andrew was her companion while she traveled with Epstein often between 2000-2002. However, her lawyers say she was “on call” for Epstein and “lent out for other powerful men,” which includes Andrew. She still suffers from significant emotional and psychological distress.
Andrew repeatedly denied Giuffre’s allegations and stated that he cannot recall ever having met her.
Andrew was a Royal Navy pilot for 20 years, and also served as an instructor during the 1982 Falklands War. He also lost honorary military positions overseas, including his title of colonel in chief of the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment.
He has spent decades trying to discredit his connections with Epstein, the U.S. banker who took his own life at 66 years old in 2019 in Manhattan federal prison while awaiting his trial on child sex traficking charges. Epstein’s long-time companion Ghislaine maxwell was convicted on related charges last month.
