The Prince of Wales moved decisively to end the debacle over Prince Andrew’s civil sex assault case to avoid lasting damage to the monarchy.
The Duke of York had promised to fight to clear his name in court after being accused by Virginia Giuffre that he sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions when she was 17.
But Prince Charles, supported by the Queen, made it clear to his younger brother that for the sake of the institution they serve he had to settle with his accuser before it went to court.
It means there will be no civil trial, and Andrew will not have to give evidence under oath or in front of a jury.
It is understood a sworn deposition which Andrew was due to make on March 10, ahead of a thanksgiving service for Prince Philip next month, was the final straw.
A senior member of the Royal Household told the Standard: “The Prince of Wales and the Queen could not countenance another disastrous appearance by the Duke of York, in light of his BBC interview. Decisive action was needed. There was little choice. He had to see sense.”
Another senior palace source added: “The prospect of the duke being cross-examined on screen by legal interrogators filled the Prince of Wales and Her Majesty and other senior royals with dread.”
The fallout from that BBC interview by Emily Maitlis in November 2019 — that Andrew informed the Queen had gone well before it aired — saw him withdraw from public duties after he was widely criticised for failing to show remorse for his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and little empathy with the sex offender’s victims.
When Andrew decided to fight on, he was told by Charles and the Queen “in no uncertain terms” that he would have to do so as a private citizen, and was last month banned from using his HRH title and stripped of royal patronages and military associations.
That position — settling out of court with Ms Giuffre for a rumoured £7.5 million paid to her charity — has not changed, and Andrew remains a royal outcast. Any money paid out will not coming from the public purse, a source confirmed. It is understood Andrew, who is not hugely wealthy, unlike his brother Charles whose landed estate the Duchy of Cornwall generates over £20 million annually for his use, is in the process of selling his multi-million-pound Swiss ski chalet but the deal has not yet gone through.
He is expected to attend the service of thanksgiving for Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey on March 29 alongside the Queen, Charles and other members of the royal family. However, he is not expected to take part in any further public events or celebrations to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Ms Giuffre had been suing the Duke of York, claiming he sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17, allegations he has repeatedly denied.
A letter filed to a US district court on Tuesday said the duke and Ms Giuffre had reached an out-of-court settlement.
It said Andrew — who made no admission of liability and had claimed publicly he had no recollection of meeting his accuser — would pay an undisclosed sum to Ms Giuffre.
‘A substantial donation’
In a letter filed to the judge, Lewis A Kaplan, lawyers for Andrew, 61, and Ms Giuffre, 38, said the two had reached a “settlement in principle”. A statement read: “The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed).”
It added that the duke would make a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.Andrew, the statement added, had “never intended to malign Ms Giuffre’s character” and he recognised she had “suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks”. He also 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”. Andrew also commended the “bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others”.
The duke’s lawyers had previously stated Andrew was ready to go before a jury to fight the claims against him and a trial was expected later this year.
If the duke had ignored his family and had gone to court in the US to fight it out, it would have been headline news worldwide and hugely damaging to the monarchy.
Despite the settlement, Andrew is not expected to regain any of his royal privileges or titles. He will keep his dukedom and the Windsor home, Royal Lodge, that he shares with his former wife Sarah, Duchess of York. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the decision on titles “rests obviously with the Palace in the future”.
Asked if the Duke should be allowed to represent regiments, he told Sky News: “Well I don’t think he represents any of them at the moment, I think the Palace took a decision that those titles were to be removed from him, so I think he is effectively acting now as a private citizen in so far as both addressing the challenges and the allegations.
“There’s been a, obviously, payment and I think that is where he currently remains, that the decision on titles rests obviously with the Palace in the future, but I think it’s been pretty clear that this settlement is a recognition that he wants to bring this to a close and also recognise as his statement says the suffering and the challenges that the victims have been through as a result of their allegations and their stand against the exploitation by (Jeffrey) Epstein.”
