“Telegraph” report
Mom help! Queen may have to pay for Prince Andrew’s settlement
A picture from the past. A return to the public is unlikely.
© Jonathan Brady / Picture Alliance
Prince Andrew has to raise more than 12 million pounds to avert the court case. And that in just 30 days, British media reports. The duke does not have such sums, the queen must buy him free.
The Duke of York has averted the court case with Virginia Roberts Giuffre. This means he no longer has to face a court and public account for the allegations that he sexually abused and raped her on three separate occasions when she was 17.
12 million in 30 days
The details of the out-of-court settlement are still being negotiated, and the agreement is expected to cost the prince more than £12m (around €14.3m), according to the British Telegraph. The money goes to the plaintiff and her foundation for abuse victims. Added to this are the costs for the legal team. The plaintiff should receive the money within 30 days, after which both parties will file an “agreed dismissal.”
Judge Lewis Kaplan therefore ordered a stay of the proceedings until March 17. He said: “If the motion to dismiss has not been filed by then, it is quite possible that the trial will take place at an earlier date.”
No apology
According to the Telegraph, the agreement was reached over the weekend. Prince Andrew will not admit guilt and will not apologize. In a statement, he pledged to “show his regret” at his association with Epstein by supporting “fighting the evils of the sex trade and supporting its victims.” “Prince Andrew never intended to disparage Ms Giuffre’s character and he accepts that she has suffered both as a proven victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.”
“Jeffrey Epstein is known to have trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein and commends the courage of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.”
No own funds
Although Prince Andrew has been relieved of all royal duties, the close connection to his mother, the Queen, is evident. He himself could not even have paid for the lawsuit without her help. The Duke is on a naval pension only and receives an annual allowance of £250,000 from the Queen. The Queen is said to have already funded the Duke’s lawsuit with millions of pounds from her private fortune and is now expected to pay a large part of the settlement, the paper said. To give her son – and the entire royal family – a chance to put an end to the case.
By late last year, the Duke had expressed a desire to return to the public eye and said he would clear his name. His decision to buy his way out of the lawsuit and not prove the allegations false in court is likely to be taken by the public as an admission of guilt. A return to the public is therefore very unlikely for the near future. Even after the end of the proceedings, it is not to be expected that the duke will regain his royal privileges or titles.
An anonymous source told the Telegraph: “It was made clear to him that the public had heard enough about him and enough about him. We don’t need to hear any more.”
“How can he still play a public role if no one wants to be associated with him?”
Sale of the chalet
Prince Andrew himself is currently trying to sell his ski chalet in Verbier. In 2014 he bought the property together with his ex-wife as a “family investment”. The couple financed the purchase with a mortgage and a private loan from the Queen. The extent to which these burdens have been removed is unknown. The property came on the market after the previous owner claimed she still had £6.7m up for grabs. The Queen’s contribution to the settlement is said to come from her private fortune in the Duchy of Lancastern.
Source: “telegraph“