Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts Giuffre have reached out of court settlement over the sex case.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Queen is to foot part of the bill for Prince Andrew’s sexual abuse lawsuit, which could end up costing some £12 million.
According to reports, the mother of the humiliated Duke of York is set to help fund the settlement, which was agreed between lawyers in a sensational development on Tuesday.
The development is believed to be a bid to draw a line under the scandal before the Queen’s much-anticipated Jubilee celebrations later this year, which the Prince will apparently be banned from attending.
Miss Roberts had alleged that she was forced to have sex with the Duke three times when she was 17 under the orders of the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew, however, vowed to contest Virginia Roberts’ rape claims at a public trial.
Nevertheless, she was given the go-ahead to sue the 61-year-old Prince for unspecified damages in a New York civil court.
Despite vowing to fight the allegations and repeatedly protesting his innocence, Andrew finally agreed to pay a huge sum to settle the case before it ever reaches a jury.
According to a report by Telegraph, the total amount that the victim and her charity will receive will exceed £12m, with the funds coming from her private Duchy of Lancaster estate, which recently increased by £1.5m to more than £23m.
Although the agreement contained neither a formal admission of liability from Prince Andrew nor an apology, it said he now accepted her was a “victim of abuse” and that he regretted his association with Epstein, the disgraced financier who trafficked countless young girls.
Despite a string of recent aggressive accusations made by his legal team that included referencing a story which branded Roberts a ‘money-hungry sex kitten’, the agreement has accepted that she had been subjected to “unfair public attacks” and that he had never intended to “malign her character.”
Although the terms of the deal remain a closely guarded secret, sources indicated the settlement itself could cost Andrew as much as £7.5 million ($10 million) – with several million pounds worth of legal fees taking the potential cost of the case to the prince to around the £10 million mark.
See the full text of the statement regarding the out of court settlement reached between the Duke of York and Virginia Giuffre below:
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). 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.
