The settlement of the sensational case will allow Prince Andrew to participate his late father’s memorial service as a members of the Royal Family in a personal capacity at the end of March. With this in view, Prince Andrew finally settles the Epstein rape case while the Queen will pay the accuser $10 million.
According to reports, the Queen would pay a portion of the tab for Prince Andrew’s sexual abuse case, which might cost up to £12 million.
The embarrassed Duke of York’s mother is reportedly planning to contribute to the settlement, which has been reached between attorneys on Tuesday in a stunning development, reports Daily Mail.
The decision is said to be a last-ditch effort to put the incident behind her ahead of her much-anticipated Jubilee festivities later this year, which he will reportedly be barred from participating.
It comes just days after Andrew promised to fight Virginia Roberts’ rape allegations in front of a judge in a public trial. Miss Roberts said that when she was 17, she was compelled to engage in sex with the Duke three times on the direction of the deceased child predator Jeffrey Epstein.
She was really only allowed permission to sue Andrew, 61, in a New York civil court for unspecified damages last month.
Despite swearing to fight the claims and constantly claiming his innocence, the prince chose to pay a large fee to reach a settlement before it went to a jury yesterday.
According to the Telegraph, sources imply that the Queen personally will contribute funds to the settlement.
The victim and her charity are expected to get more than £12 million, according to the tabloid, with the payments arriving from her private Duchy of Lancaster estate, which has lately increased by £1.5 million to more than £23 million.
Despite the fact that Andrew made no formal admission of wrongdoing or apologized, the agreement stated that he now accepts Miss Roberts was a ‘victim of abuse’ and that he resented his affiliation with Epstein, the notorious billionaire who trafficked numerous young girls.
It further stated that the prince acknowledged Miss Roberts, now 38, had been the target of ‘unfair public attacks’ and that he’d never meant to ‘malign her character.’
This is notwithstanding his litigation team’s recent strong claims, which also included quoting a report that referred to Miss Roberts as a ‘money-hungry sex kitten.’
Andrew is said to be giving Miss Roberts a big amount of money, as well as agreeing to make a ‘substantial donation’ to her organization in defense of victims’ rights.
Although the contents of the agreement are being kept under wraps, sources say the settlement might cost Andrew as much as £7.5 million ($10 million) — with several million pounds in legal bills pushing the total cost of the case to approximately £10 million for the prince.
Miss Roberts, who filed the claim under her marital identity Virginia Giuffre, sued Andrew in August, demanding unspecified damages for violence, including rape, and intentional infliction of mental distress. The media can disclose that settlement talks have been going on behind Miss Roberts’ back since a US judge declined to dismiss her case last month.
Her legal team, on the other hand, was believed to be startled by Andrew’s quick capitulation, given the extraordinary change of events in recent days.
Senior royals have pressured the prince, who was deprived of his residual patronages early this year, to settle the lawsuit before the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee later this year. While Buckingham Palace was thought to be heaving a sense of relief last night that the case would not go to court, senior royal insiders said there was now no possibility for the disgraced duke to return to public life.
‘Regardless of the outcome, he has ruled himself out of any public role by virtue of his appalling lack of judgment and poor choice of friends and associates,’ according to one source.
Crucially, Andrew’s earlier denials of having had sex with Miss Roberts were not restated in the agreement, and the prince will not have the opportunity to refute her allegations in court.
It emerges just over a month after another of Epstein’s captives told the press that Miss Roberts acknowledged to sleeping with the prince in London in 2001.
‘It’s a really great day,’ Miss Roberts’ lawyer David Boies remarked last night. As we told Virginia the circumstances, she was ecstatic. This has all happened in the last few days, and it’s been rather swift. I’m not sure what happened on his end. I believed we should really have resolved this when we brought the suit.
‘That’s basically the end of the case. She will get paid the money in 30 days’ time. I cannot comment on the amount or the terms, but it’s a good day.’
Mr Boies had volunteered to pursue the case pro bono, although it is unclear whether he will still pursue reimbursement from the Duke for some of his legal fees.
‘Andrew moved so far, so fast from his position of deny, deny, deny,’ a person acquainted with the issue said. He had a number of things hovering in front of him.
‘Things were starting to come out and Andrew knew what the case was against him.
‘It’s a princely amount, a very, very substantial amount of money split into two buckets: the settlement itself and the donation.’
Rachel Fiset, a senior partner at legal firm Zweiback, Fiset & Coleman who focuses in white collar crime defense, believes the ultimate sum could be considerably larger than most other experts expect.
‘A settlement that would cover Andrew’s legal fees to take this case to trial alone, would be well into the millions,’ she said.
‘When you couple the price of litigation on both sides with the risk of embarrassing facts coming out for Andrew and a potential jury loss relating to the sexual assault of a minor by a Prince, the settlement amount is likely very high. My best guess puts the settlement amount somewhere between 20 and 30 million dollars.’
Furthermore, a royal source told the media that the prince made ‘inexcusably bad judgement’ in both his relationship with Epstein and the handling of the claims against him, which began more than 7 years ago.
One source added: ‘There is huge relief in the royal household. This has been a very difficult time for everyone involved, not least because of the issues involved and that the allegations had been made by an acknowledged victim of Jeffrey Epstein. The feeling is that the situation was badly – inexcusably badly – managed by Andrew and his advisers from the start. It was as if they thought they could close their eyes and put their fingers in their ears and it would all go away.’
According to one source, the settlement will allow Andrew to participate his late father’s memorial service as a members of the Royal Family in a personal capacity at the end of March. He wouldn’t be allowed to join any of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee events, however. ‘It is a matter for the Duke and his legal team,’ a Palace spokesperson declared emphatically last night.
The case and its continued ‘attritional’ impact on the Royal Family was already ‘widely discussed’ amongst senior royals, as per royal sources, but there was a strong desire not to be viewed interfering in matters.
The Prince of Wales also talked to his brother upon many instances, and he was understandably anxious to avoid the humiliation of a public trial. However, sources claimed he understood that the judicial procedure must run its course and that, instinctively, the heir to the throne avoids ‘mandating’ on problems involving his family.
‘No one had much sympathy for Andrew,’ according to another royal insider. Last month, the Queen opted to deprive her son of his residual military ties and patronages, as well as his right to use the designation of His Royal Highness in just about any official manner.
Last night, a York MP called on the Duke of York to relinquish his title in order to show ‘respect’ for the city’s residents. Rachael Maskell of Labour claimed he has brought ‘deep hurt and embarrassment’ to local people.
Andrew’s assertions of a journey to Woking’s Pizza Express and his inability to sweat, both of which he presented as an alibi against Miss Roberts’ allegations, remain unanswered. The agreement came only weeks before he was scheduled to give a deposition, or under oath interview, in what would have been an awkward grilling by Miss Roberts’ attorneys.
Nick Goldstone, the head of dispute resolution at Ince, an international law company based in London, said:
‘Clearly this is a settlement in principle on very generous financial terms for the complainant and a degree of backpedalling by the defendant.
‘In terms of ‘the court of public opinion’ this looks like an admission of bad conduct on the part of Andrew and I suspect he will remain ‘off-stage’ from the Royal Family for the rest of his life. It’s a good day for the Royal Family. A huge relief for that institution. Probably a good day for Miss Roberts and a recognition of the impossible position Prince Andrew was in and the cessation of hostilities.’
Attorney Lisa Bloom, who represents eight of Epstein’s victims, applauded the agreement. She stated: ‘We hail Virginia’s victory today. She has accomplished what no one else could: getting Prince Andrew to stop his nonsense and side with sexual abuse victims. We salute Virginia’s stunning courage.’
Penny Junor, a royal author, believes the settlement will be a ‘huge relief’ to the members of the royal family, but also that the harm to Andrew is irreversible.
She said: ‘Going to trial, it could have been very, very nasty. It could have been embarrassing, humiliating, and it would have been huge fodder for the tabloid press. It could have really taken the shine off the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.’
She added: ‘It does of course, I assume, mean we will never know whether Andrew was innocent or guilty. And that, I think, in itself means that he will never be able to go back to any kind of royal work. I think his reputation will never recover.’
Amber Melville-Brown, a partner at the London law firm Withers’ New York office, informed the Times that the settlement would be ‘worth its weight in gold to the Queen as she celebrates her Platinum Jubilee.’
Ann Olivarius, a senior partner at McAllister Olivarius who has represented clients on both flanks of the Atlantic, told the Guardian: ‘The size of the compensation is probably massive by any British standards, and it’s probably very substantial by American standards – and American standards are very high.’
He told the Sun: ‘Essentially has he admitted that he has done any wrong at all? No. Regretting his association with Epstein doesn’t count. 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?’
Speaking to the press, he added: ‘The relief at the Palace will be almost tangible now the threat of further public humiliation of Andrew in this civil case has been lifted after this settlement was announced. This was always pretty certain as 97 per cent are settled in this way in the US.
‘He has simultaneously, over two and a quarter years, managed to become a serious embarrassment, a national joke and a symbol of entitlement of the worst sort. If it had ever got to court, his humiliation would have been an international cause celebre. The questioning he was shortly facing as part of the legal process by Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s legal team, would have been devastating too.
‘Although it would not have overshadowed the actual Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, this scandal would have cast a cloud over this unique royal year. That will now not occur and he has continued to deny the charges against him, but the public will not forget the Newsnight interview, the unexplained photograph and his disastrous friendships with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
‘There is therefore no future royal role, other than possibly helping to manage the royal estates, at any time in the future for him.’
Another source claimed: ‘I’m sure that Charles has had enough of the situation. Charles would have said to Andrew that he needed to get this sorted out as soon as possible and before the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations begin. Charles did not want this hanging over the Royal Family this year.’
Although the amount of the settlement has not yet been established, reports last month proposed that Andrew might prevent a trial by selling his £18 million Swiss chalet and using at least £10 million of the revenue to pay off Mrs Giuffre.
In the meantime, a former Royal protection officer told the Sun that his shocking 180-degree turn was most probably instructed by his mother.
‘This wasn’t his decision, this was the Queen’s,’ said Paul Page. He added that Andrew’s narrative was ‘full of holes’ and the Duke ‘would have been slaughtered’ in his deposition.
Mr Fitzwilliams added: ‘The amount he has paid Virginia Roberts Giuffre in settlement has not been disclosed but it is likely to be huge. He has a naval pension and gets an allowance from the Queen. He has also reportedly found a buyer for his chalet, the ownership of which he shares with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson with whom he cohabits, which was on the market for £18 million, having paid a debt to its former owner.
‘We will probably never know how Andrew raised the money for this settlement. However one thing is crystal clear, this was an emergency and this scandal was deeply destructive for the monarchy. The royal family have numerous wealthy friends and it may well be that it was thought necessary to bail out the Queen’s second son in a year that was truly unique for her and for the royal family.
‘Andrew will remain in disgrace, he strongly denies the charges, but the court of public opinion as represented in opinion polls is totally hostile as is the press and Prince Charles and Prince William have made clear there is no future role for him as a senior working royal.
‘This settlement enlists him as promising to join in the fight against sex trafficking. It therefore remains imperative that he assist the FBI in their attempts to trace Epstein’s accomplices, as he previously promised to do and has not. This is a dreadful scandal and it may not all be over yet.’
Dan Wootton, a MailOnline columnist, added: ‘Hard to see how Prince Andrew will ever clear his name in the court of public opinion now he’s settled – and presumably paid huge money – to Virginia Giuffre. He said he’d cooperate with the FBI. He didn’t. He said he’d fight Virginia in court. He didn’t. What’s he hiding?’
All whilst, Angela Levin, a royal author, told GB News: ‘I think it sounds remarkably humble, which is not something we expect from Prince Andrew. Now, why that is, I’m not sure. I wonder if the Queen, now she’s well, gave him a b******ing and said ‘you’re not going to spoil my Platinum Jubilee. I’m the only person who’s ever reached this and you just got to sort it out’. She’s the only one I think who should really give him a telling off. She’s very matronly with him and perhaps he decided that. But it is a great relief I think because it would have rumbled on and that would have taken the headlines all the time and goodness knows what could have come out the other end.’
Prince Andrew’s daughter Princess Eugenie attended the Super Bowl in Los Angeles with Prince Harry on Sunday
Grant Harrold, a former royal butler, told the broadcaster: ‘I believed there was going to be a court case and I thought it was a great opportunity for the prince who’s always said he’s innocent for him to prove his innocence, but obviously an out-of-court settlement puts an end to the whole thing.
‘I can only assume it’s because the Queen’s got her Platinum Jubilee this year and maybe they were worried this would overshadow that, that’s the only reason I can assume this has happened.’
Solicitor Joshua Rozenberg added: ‘There is nothing in this agreement in which he admits to any misbehaviour with Virginia Giuffre. He accepts she has suffered as an established victim of abuse, but he doesn’t say that he abused her.
‘He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Jeffrey Epstein but he doesn’t say he had any association with Ms Giuffre. There are all sorts of reason why people settle, there are all sorts of reasons why people bring claims. The fact that this has settled doesn’t mean any more than it says. On the other hand, you don’t pay a lot of money unless you want a case to go away.’
Another expert, Joe Little of Majesty magazine, said: ‘I just don’t think he’s ever likely to resume work as a working member of the royal family. I think that too much water has gone under the bridge for that and the institution of monarchy has been tainted by his association with Epstein and I just think that there’s no going back on all that.’
Of the likely reaction of the rest of the Royal Family, Mr Little said: ‘I’m sure that they’re glad this (settlement agreement) has happened, but does it exonerate the prince who really has not been charged with anything criminal? He will, I think, forever be tainted by this scandal, for want of a better way of describing it.’
It comes after news stories that Mrs. Giuffre claims to have misplaced the original print of the iconic photo of her and Andrew captured in London in 2001, which might strengthen the Duke’s case that the picture was digitally altered.
The Metropolitan Police dropped their inquiry into Andrew in October, asserting they would take ‘no further action,’ but the recent advancement brings up the question of whether he will be questioned again in the future.
‘Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out of court settlement,’ according to a document submitted to the New York court today. Following Ms Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement, the parties will submit a stipulated dismissal (the sum of which is not being disclosed).
‘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.
‘It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. 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.’
A second document, a letter addressed to US Judge Lewis A Kaplan, who has also been supervising the case, stated: ‘We write jointly with counsel for defendant to advise the court that the parties reached a settlement in principle of the above-referenced action.’
The parties intend to file a ‘stipulation of dismissal of the case’ inside of 30 days, according to the document. Mr. Boies’ letter asserts, ‘We appreciate the time and effort the court has devoted to this matter.’
When contacted by the media today, Mr Boies stated, ‘This event speaks for itself.’
The Duke of York’s public image is “reputationally toast” following the settlement of his US court lawsuit, however the legal advancement has shielded the broader royal family from the harm of a public trial, according to a lawyer.
Media lawyer Mark Stephens said: ‘With this settlement, he has prevented this court case overshadowing the tributes and acknowledgement of the Queen’s 70 years of selfless sacrifice and service to the country.
‘And whilst he is reputationally toast and will never appear on a royal balcony ever again and has effectively been airbrushed from polite society and the royal family, he does prevent wider problems for the royal family by ensuring this settlement goes away.
‘And he has protected his children and their reputations, and he has protected the wider royal family.’
Mr Stephens added: ‘I think there will be a big, deep sigh of relief in the palace tonight.’
In response to today’s news, royal expert Omid Scobie, who also served as Harry and Meghan’s biographer, posted on twitter: ‘There will no doubt be plenty of speculation about both parties over the days ahead.
‘Worth noting that this deal comes just weeks before Andrew was scheduled to sit for an intense deposition, in which he would have been questioned under oath by Giuffre’s lawyers.
‘Today’s news won’t change Andrew’s royal status — the honours he was stripped of won’t be returned and he’s still prohibited from using HRH.
‘It does, however, remain to be seen whether the institution will play any role in helping the disgraced royal rehabilitate his image.’
And ITV royal editor Chris Ship added: ‘It does seem that the stripping of Prince Andrew’s royal patronages and military titles in January – and the removal from use of his HRH title, all remains in place despite today’s settlement news.’
Andrew lost his honorary military titles and charitable roles last month after New York Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected his request to quash Mrs Giuffre’s case.
The judge also stated that it was too soon to determine as to if Mrs. Giuffre’s 2009 civil settlement with Epstein also protected Andrew.
Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson leave Royal Lodge in Windsor in a Range Rover with their dog on January 30
In January, the Queen cut her second son of his renowned honorary military titles and royal patronages, and he ceased to use his HRH style, adequately cutting him off from the organisation. It is recognised that the Palace’s declaration highlighting the adjustments, issued on January 13, remains in effect, with the Duke persisting to refrain from performing any public duties.
Mrs Giuffre, now 38, claims Andrew sexually assaulted her after a night of dancing at the London home of socialite and Epstein’s good friend Ghislaine Maxwell in March 2001.
She filed a lawsuit against the Prince last year for unspecified damages, accusing that Epstein and Maxwell trafficked her to him.
Maxwell was found guilty last December of grooming and enlisting underage women to be sexually assaulted by Epstein, uncovering a murky underworld of sex trafficking amongst some of the wealthy and powerful.
Mrs Giuffre also claimed Andrew assaulted her at Epstein’s residence in New York and on Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, in addition to the London charges.
Andrew, Queen Elizabeth II’s second son, retired from mainstream society as a royal in 2019 after a widely mocked BBC interview in which he attempted to clear himself of the allegations.
Epstein, who was 66 at the time, committed suicide in a New York jail cell whilst pending trial on sex trafficking counts in August 2019.
Andrew Ford, director at Holborn Adams criminal defense attorneys in London, told the media today when questioned about the sum of the settlement: ‘The settlement will be pitched as a ‘commercial decision’ and will not include any admission of criminal wrongdoing or a civil tort.
‘A settlement figure is designed to compensate an individual for their losses. Physical or mental harm in a case like this. This would potentially be a five-figure sum.
‘What is worth more than that in high profile case settlements – of which I have done many – is the NDA which preserves the PR.’
Dino Nocivelli, a partner at Leigh Day and an expert in abuse cases, who is already stationed in London, said: ‘The figures awarded for damages for sexual abuse in America tend to be significantly higher than those ordered in England and Wales, and this is an out-of-court settlement.
‘We don’t know if the agreement included any admissions or apologies and if there are any non-disclosure agreements involved. For all those reasons we couldn’t hazard a guess at what the settlement figure might be.
‘However this is an important conclusion for the claimant and I hope it brings an element of closure and justice for her.’
Former Deputy District Attorney Emily Baker told reporters that the payment would be ‘at least’ seven figures and ‘sizeable.’
She said: ‘I was very surprised that he agreed to settle for an undisclosed sum given that he’s been vehemently denying it. They were just about to get into discovery which could have been a lot more damaging to Prince Andrew than her.
‘It’s hard to speculate but at least seven figures would be appropriate. There’s no benefit to her otherwise. She doesn’t have that much to lose, she’s already gone through the media gauntlet.
‘It would have to be a number that made it worth it for her.’
The settlement will not be disclosed in court documents, but the donation to Mrs Giuffre’s charity might, she added.
Ms Baker said: ‘They have filed a notice that they’re settling. Once the money hits her account, they will then file a notice that it has been dismissed but that is all we will see.’
‘When you have a royal involved in the US justice system, I can’t think of any other case comparable but we do have the other Epstein victim funds and they were multi-million dollar settlements.’
Anna Rothwell, a lawyer at criminal law firm Corker Binning in London, said: ‘It is not surprising that Prince Andrew has settled Ms Giuffre’s civil claim in light of his disastrous Newsnight interview.
‘That interview alone would have given Ms Giuffre’s lawyers a wealth of material to use in cross examination. It would have proven a painful deposition for the Prince, and this time his cross examination would have been under oath.’
The settlement of the civil sex assault case against the Duke of York has left ‘a lot of serious questions,’ according to the anti-monarchy organization Republic.
Graham Smith from the campaign group said: ‘I’m pleased Virginia Giuffre has achieved a settlement in this case, but there remain a lot of serious questions to which the public deserve answers.’ He said taxpayers ‘deserve to know where the money is coming from for a settlement, which we must assume is in the millions, if not tens of millions’.
He said: ‘So much public money ends up in royal pockets one way or another. Are the British public ultimately paying for Andrew to avoid appearing in court? This scandal has done significant damage to the monarchy, and these questions aren’t going away.’
Another spokesman for the group added: ‘It’s been more than 11 years since this came to light. It’s good that Virginia Giuffre has achieved a favourable outcome. However, this leaves a lot of questions that the British public deserve answers to, such as: has Andrew admitted guilt to a criminal offence? Will he now cooperate with the FBI?’
Grant Harrold, a former royal butler, told GBNews: ‘This is the problem, we’ve never had a situation with a member of the Royal Family that’s gone through this. I don’t think people would want to see him taking up an active public role again. Especially with an out-of-court settlement I’m assuming he will almost retire, which is kind of what’s already happened as he’s stood back.
‘I don’t quite know what will happen going forward, it’s possible he could spend time in other countries, in other parts of the world but for the last couple of years he’s been over at Windsor and out of public sight and it’s possible that’s what he’ll continue to do.
‘I think we’ll still see him on different family occasions, very much in the background, and it’s going to be interesting with the Platinum Jubilee, if he’s involved in that – not taking part but if he’s there, with the family or if you don’t even see him. Hopefully we’ll get the answers in the near future.
‘I think this has been quite a stressful time for all of them, particularly the Queen. It’s less than a year since she lost her husband. Everybody is always talking about Prince Andrew being her favourite son. I’ve been asked if that’s true and I don’t actually know the exact answer, I think she’s close with all her children. But there’s parts of Prince Andrew that reminded her of her late husband so there is a closeness and it’s very upsetting for the Queen. It would be upsetting for any parent who has a child going through this.
‘She will be glad that this hopefully comes to an end, but she might be wondering what is the future for him, where does he go from this point onwards?’
Royal author Angela Levin added: ‘It’s good on both sides because Virginia has got what she wanted really, she wanted to be paid properly, but we hear it’s going to a charity of her choice so she can’t be thought of as someone who’s just after the money for herself, I think that’s quite significant.
‘Hopefully at the end of the month this will all go away. It does not mean, however, he will be embraced by the royal family and we will see him during the Jubilee celebrations. I think he’s going to have to learn to live quietly and modestly, but that’s better than going to court.’
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Maybe 10 years ago, a newly released issue of The National Enquirer featured a photo of Prince Harry of England ‘frolicking in a Las Vegas bed with 3 young women’. what the article did NOT state was the fact that Queen Elizabeth paid for them and the photographer. Somehow, I do not feel deprived.