Prince Andrew has settled a civil sexual assault case with accuser Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexually assaulting her on three occasions when she was 17. Andrew has repeatedly denied the accusations.
Prince Andrew and Giuffre reached an out-of-court settlement. A letter filed to the US district court said that the Duke would pay an undisclosed sum.
Giuffre’s lawyer and the royal’s lawyers wrote in a joint letter to U.S. Judge Lewis A Kaplan that the sides had reached “a settlement in principle,” and that the parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon the receipt of the settlement. It also said that Prince Andrew would make a “substantial donation” to Giuffre’s charity, which supports victims’ rights.
At no point was there an admission of liability or guilt.
The statement said that Prince Andrew never “intended” to damage Giuffre’s character, and said he recognized she had “suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.”
This comes after weeks of the royal’s legal team attempting to use victim-blaming narratives against Giuffre.
Prince Andrew said he would “demonstrate his regret” for associating with late convicted pedophile and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and would do so by supporting the fight against sex trafficking and by supporting its victims.
The royal’s lawyers had previously claimed they wanted a trial before a jury. But with a trial expected later this year, legal experts say that his claim to want a juried trial was all a rouse, and that really the worst-case scenario for Prince Andrew would have been to go to court.
Giuffre said she was the victim of sex trafficking and abuse by Epstein from her age of 16. She said the Duke assaulted her at Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s home in London, as well as in Epstein’s New York mansion, and on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands.
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