Prince Andrew has settled his highly publicized civil lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre.
Giuffre alleged she was sexually abused by the British royal, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II when she was 17 years old.
Things looked rough for Andrew — last month, the Queen stripped him of his military titles, and a court rejected his request for a case dismissal.
In a letter made public yesterday, Andrew pledged a “substantial” donation to Giuffre’s victims’ rights group. The royal asserted that he “never intended to malign” Giuffre’s character.
The settlement amount remains undisclosed, though there has been speculation that the figure could run into millions of dollars.
Prince Andrew settles lawsuit with Jeffrey Epstein victim
Giuffre previously alleged that she was trafficked to Andrew by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Epstein was found dead in his cell on August 10, 2019, at the Metropolitan Correction Center, where he was awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. The cause of Epstein’s death was alleged suicide.
Ghislaine Maxwell received convictions in December for recruiting and grooming girls for Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring.
David Boies, Giuffre’s lawyer, wrote to the court, “Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out-of-court settlement. The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms. Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed).”
The letter continued, “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.”
Prince Andrew stripped of military titles and royal patronages
Last month, Queen Elizabeth stripped Prince Andrew of his military titles and royal patronages.
The Royal Family’s official Instagram account wrote, “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”
Before this, Andrew had stepped back from royal duties after an interview with the BBC which many described as disastrous.
Prince Andrew’s request for lawsuit dismissal rejected
Attorneys for the Duke of York argued for the dismissal of Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit because of a 2009 deal she signed with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The 2009 deal would release “any other person” involved in the case from litigation.
In January, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan for the Southern District of New York rejected Andrew’s attempt to dismiss the federal lawsuit.
Last month, it appeared unlikely that Giuffre would accept a settlement. Speculations suggested that Andrew would go to trial for the allegations.
However, things have now changed after the two settled for an undisclosed amount.