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| Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2001 |
Prince Andrew has settled a civil sexual assault case brought against him in the US by Virginia Giuffre.
Ms Giuffre had been suing the Duke of York, claiming he sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17, allegations he has repeatedly denied.
A letter filed to the US district court on Tuesday said the duke and Ms Giuffre had reached an out-of-court settlement.
It said the duke – who makes no admission of liability – would pay an undisclosed sum to Ms Giuffre.
In a letter to US judge Lewis A Kaplan, Ms Giuffre’s lawyer David Boies wrote jointly with Prince Andrew’s lawyers to say the pair had reached “a settlement in principle”.
A statement included with the letter read: “The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed).”
It said the duke would make a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
Prince Andrew, the statement added, had “never intended to malign Ms Giuffre’s character” and he recognised she had “suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks”.
The duke also pledged to “demonstrate his regret for his association” with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein by supporting the “fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims”.
He also commended the “bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others”.
Prince Andrew’s lawyers had previously said he was ready to go before a jury to fight Ms Giuffre’s claims, with a trial expected later this year.
His representatives said he had no comment beyond what was said in the document filed to the court. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the settlement.
Although the exact amount of the financial settlement has not been revealed, reports have speculated that it could run into millions of pounds.
It has prompted questions about how the duke – who receives a Royal Navy pension and a stipend from the Queen’s Duchy of Lancaster income – will fund the settlement.
Kate Macnab, a lawyer at Reeds Solicitors, says: “It is likely there will be some demands to know where the payment is coming from – public or private purse?”
Graham Smith from the anti-monarchy group Republic said taxpayers deserved to know where the money for the settlement was coming from.
Ms Giuffre, who was previously known as Virginia Roberts, claimed she was the victim of sex trafficking and abuse by financier Epstein from the age of 16. Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting a sex trafficking trial.
She said part of the abuse saw her lent out to powerful men, including Prince Andrew, who is the third child of the Queen and ninth in line to the throne.
Ms Giuffre, now 38, claimed the duke, 61, sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17 at Ghislaine Maxwell’s home in London, in Epstein’s mansion in New York and on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands.
BBC
