Prince Andrew had always maintained that he would fight the sexual assault allegations brought against him by Virginia Guiffre but, weeks before he was set to be deposed in connection with the ongoing civil lawsuit, the Duke of York performed an abrupt about-face.
WATCH BELOW: Prince Andrew’s shock legal settlement explained
In a joint court filing, lawyers for Andrew and Virginia announced that the two parties had reached an out-of-court settlement, with the prince agreeing to pay Virginia an undisclosed sum and also vowing to make a substantial donation to her 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,” his legal team’s statement read.
Virginia filed the civil lawsuit against Andrew on August 9, 2021, claiming she was forced to have sex with the duke on three occasions when she was 17. The encounters were allegedly organised by child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison.
Andrew’s lawyers bid to have the case thrown out, however the request was rejected and a trial was expected to go ahead, before the shock decision to settle was made.
British papers are reporting that the settlement fee could reach as much as a whopping $23 million, not to mention the legal fees that the duke will have incurred on top of that.
There has been plenty of speculation as to how Andrew has been funding his legal defence and it’s thought that the recent sale of his $32m Swiss ski chalet will go towards his legal fees.
Some reports are also claiming that the Queen is contributing private funds from the Duchy of Lancaster towards the settlement fee.
The decision to settle seems to be a U-turn for the duke, who has always vehemently denied the allegations, but there is speculation that he was under immense pressure from the Queen and Prince Charles to put this whole mess behind him.
According to several reports, The Firm wanted a settlement agreed on so the case did not overshadow Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations this year.
However, some royal watchers have claimed that this decision could be seen as an “admission of guilt”.
“He claimed innocence, but he has settled and many would regard this as an admission of guilt. If he was innocent then why did he pay?” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams asked.
WATCH BELOW: Prince Andrew Denies Allegations Made By Virginia Roberts. Story continues after the video.
Despite the settlement, Andrew has not admitted to any of the allegations brought against him and sources told The Sun he still “wholly maintains his innocence”.
Of course, the biggest question on everyone’s lips going forward is: what does this mean for Andrew’s future in the royal family?
He stepped back from royal duties and the public eye some time ago, and in January the Queen stripped him of all his royal patronages, honorary military titles and any official use of his HRH title.
At the time of print the palace had not commented on whether there would be any changes to this arrangement, but it would be difficult to imagine a return to royal duties and public engagements given the damage the case has already done to Andrew’s reputation.
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