Queen will pay Prince Andrew’s settlement – news report

Prince Andrew will pay Virginia Roberts Giuffre around £12 million ($16.3 million), drawing on funds from the Queen’s private estate, The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday.

It came after Andrew and Giuffre reached a settlement in her sexual-assault lawsuit against him involving an undisclosed sum of money.

The out-of-court agreement means the Duke will not face a jury trial on allegations that he raped Giuffre on three separate occasions when she was 17. Prince Andrew did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement.

He had repeatedly denied Giuffre’s accusations against him, insisting he did not remember ever meeting her.

A joint statement attached to the notice of settlement said Andrew would donate money to Giuffre’s charity, which advocates for victims of trafficking.

The terms of the agreement prevent both sides from publicly discussing the case or settlement.

The Telegraph did not identify a source for the £12 million figure.

It said that the money would come partly from Andrew and partly from the Duchy of Lancaster, a vast estate in England that is owned personally by the UK monarch.

Legal experts speaking to The Times of London suggested that the figure could be around £10 million.

Previous reports suggest the Queen has already spent millions supporting her son’s fight against the allegations.

Giuffre, who alleges she was trafficked by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, filed a lawsuit against Andrew in August.

Accusations
She accused him of sexually assaulting her multiple times in the early 2000s. In the lawsuit, she alleged the abuse took place at Epstein’s homes in New York, the US Virgin Islands, and at Ghislaine Maxwell’s London home.

In the joint statement published Tuesday, Andrew acknowledged his previous “association” with Epstein, saying he regretted their relationship.

He also commended Giuffre and other survivors for “standing up for themselves and others.”

“Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks,” the statement said.

According to The Telegraph, settlement negotiations lasted at least 10 days and took a turn when Andrew’s deposition date was set for March.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in January rejected Andrew’s request to dismiss the lawsuit. Following the dismissal, Andrew was stripped of his royal duties and military titles.

Both sides were moving toward the discovery process in advance of a fall trial when the settlement was reached.

Andrew had previously requested a jury trial, indicating last month that he was not ready to settle.