Prince Andrew has finally reached an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre who had brought a sexual assault case against him, court documents filed by Giuffre's lawyers on Tuesday show. The settlement was reached after the Duke of York agreed to an undisclosed deal with Giuffre without admitting his accusations.
Giuffre has been suing the Duke of York, alleging that he sexually attacked her three times when she was 17, claims that he has rejected time and again. According to the letter delivered to federal Judge Lewis Kaplan, the parties aim to file a stipulation of dismissal of the case within 30 days.
Finally Relieved
Prince Andrew will finally breathe easy following the settlement of the bombshell lawsuit on Tuesday. A letter filed to the US district court on Tuesday said the duke and Giuffre had reached an out-of-court settlement.
The amount Andrew has agreed to pay Giuffre was not specified in the petition. However, it stated that the prince will make "a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights." Andrew also praised her "bravery," as well as those of other victims of human trafficking, and stated that he had "never intended" to disparage her character.
"Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights. 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 letter states.
"It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years," the letter continues. "Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others. He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims."
Andrew had failed in his attempts to have Giuffre's claim dismissed in a Manhattan federal court. He was also stripped of his military titles last month and other honorifics and related to being a member of Britain's royal family.
End of a Long Battle
The settlement means that the civil case will not go to a jury trial. Thus, Andrew will no longer be questioned under oath by Giuffre's lawyers, something that was just about to begin in the coming weeks.
Giuffre had filed a lawsuit against Andrew in August last year, alleging that he had sexually abused her when she was 17 years old. According to US law Giuffre was a child at that time. She also alleged that she was being trafficked by the convicted sex offender Epstein.
Andrew had refuted Giuffre's claims that he sexually abused her in New York, London, and the US Virgin Islands.
Interestingly, the out-of-court settlement follows reports that Giuffre claims to have misplaced the original print of the famous photograph of her and Andrew taken in London in 2001, which could have in fact strengthened the Duke's case that the portrait was doctored.
Also, the news comes less than two months after Maxwell was convicted in the same courthouse of arranging for other teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein, who committed suicide in a federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal child sex trafficking charges.
Andrew was one of Epstein's many rich, powerful and high-profile friends over the years. Before pleading guilty to Florida state charges in 2009, Epstein had long-standing associations with former Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, including paying an underage girl for sexual services.
As for the Royal family, the news comes as a major relief as it comes ahead of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in May and June as well as a Westminster Abbey service to remember Prince Philip next month.
