By Emily Caulkett-
Prince Andrew will pay a cost of at least £12m after he agreed to settle Virginia Giuffre’s sex abuse lawsuit, legal and royal experts have said.
Sources close to Andrew said he still “wholly maintains his innocence” and insisted he “believes he can still find a way back into public life”.
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The Duke of York, 61, is understood to have signed the deal with his sex abuse accuser Ms Giuffre, 38, late on Monday afternoon. Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights.
Andrew has in the last few weeks been completing the £17.5m sale of the Swiss ski chalet he bought with the Duchess of York with a £13m mortgage in 2014, but it is presently unclear whether the deal will be completed on time for the payment which must be made within 30 days of the settlement date, which took place yesterday.
Royal expert Adam Helliker told the Sun that the Queen had to contribute because Andrew “doesn’t have any income”.
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He told the Sun: “No-one has that kind of money but his mother. Andrew is not close enough to the Prince of Wales for him to fund that kind of money. He doesn’t have any income.”
However, this comment doesn’t take into account the big sale of the Swiss ski chalet, which could possibly cover the whole settlement costs.
Giuffre, also known as Virginia Roberts, made a claim against Andrew for damages in her home country of the US, claiming she was trafficked by Epstein, Andrew’s friend, to have sex with the royal when she was 17, a minor under US law.
The settlement agreement states that Andrew will donate to Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights and that he has pledged to “demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein” by supporting the “fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims”.
Although the parties have settled the case, the agreement is not an admission of guilt from the duke and he has always strenuously denied the allegations against him.
Lisa Bloom, a lawyer representing a number of Epstein’s victims said she and her clients “salute Virginia’s stunning courage”, hailing the outcome as a “victory”.
However, families of the victim see it as a victory for them.
Lisa Bloom, attorney for several of Epstein’s victims, said in a tweet that Giuffre had achieved “what no one else could: getting Prince Andrew to stop his nonsense and side with sexual abuse victims”.
“My clients and I see this as a monumental victory for Virginia and are just in awe of her courage,” Bloom told the Guardian. “She stood up … she did it not only for herself but for other victims. It’s really an inspiration.”
In January, Buckingham Palace announced that Andrew would be defending the case “as a private citizen”.
Prince Andrew receives a Royal Navy pension and the Queen is also thought to fund him from her £21.7m a year Duchy of Lancaster income, but the figure she gives him is kept private.
An order published by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in response to the settlement letter, stated that the “stipulation of dismissal” of the case must be filed by March 17, otherwise it “remains entirely possible that this action will be set for trial when previously indicated”
Ms Giuffre, who is American but now lives in Australia, sued Andrew last August in New York, alleging he sexually abused her when she was 17, a minor under US law.
She claimed to have been trafficked around the world as a sex slave to billionaire American Epstein and Maxwell.
Reliable royal sources said Andrew was under “intense pressure from the very top” to ensure a deal was done after a US judge last month rejected the duke’s bid to have the case dismissed. It is understood Andrew will make the £12m payment from the recent sale of his chalet in Switzerland.
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 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… He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against… sex trafficking, and by supporting victims.”
In court papers in the case, Giuffre had said she “feared death or… other repercussions for disobeying Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew due to their connections [and] wealth”.
She claimed she first had sex with Andrew at the London home of Maxwell in 2001. Ms Guiffre also said that later that year in New York, Maxwell forced her to sit on Andrew’s lap as he touched her, and that the duke forced her to engage in sex acts against her will
Mr Boies had said he and Ms Guiffre were looking forward to “confronting” the royal about his “denials” after challenging him to stop “trying to evade and delay facing his accuser in court”.
Finally, the legal nightmare for Prince Andrew ends, but the psychological and moral one likely continues.
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