Status: 02/16/2022 02:46 am
After the abuse proceedings against Prince Andrew in New York lead to an out-of-court settlement, the royals should breathe a sigh of relief. An exciting question now is how Andrew can pay the millions.
Instead of a sensational process under the eyes of the world public, the abuse scandal surrounding Prince Andrew now ends discreetly with a comparison: It was agreed not to disclose the amount at stake. The British “Daily Telegraph” writes that it is about 12 million pounds, other estimates are also in the range.
Andrew now has thirty days to pay the agreed sum, and then the case would be off the table. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the agreement, citing Andrew’s status as a private individual in the process. But of course the Queen should be relieved, according to royal house expert Penny Junor on the BBC:
That was really the only possible outcome that Andrew could aspire to from the perspective of the royal family. That spares months of uncomfortable revelations during a trial that would have spoiled the Queen’s 70th jubilee.
Significantly different tone on the part of the prince
An admission of guilt is not included in the published statement – and Guiffre does not retract its allegations either. But the Prince’s wording is in a markedly different tone to previous statements by Andrew and his lawyers, which denied that Andrew even knew Guiffre and called her untrustworthy.
The statement read: “Prince Andrew never intended to defame Ms. Giuffre and he accepts that she has suffered both as a victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.”
Epstein is also mentioned
Direct reference is also made to Andrew’s former friend Jeffrey Epstein: It is known that Jeffrey Epstein has been responsible for the human trafficking of countless young girls for many years. “Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein and commends the courage of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors to stand up for themselves and others,” it said.
That sounded very different in the infamous Newsnight interview from 2019, in which Andrew tried in vain to whitewash Guiffre’s allegations, when he was asked if he regretted his friendship with Epstein. At the time, he emphasized the contacts he was able to make as a commercial attaché through Epstein: “No, not really. The people I met through him and the opportunities that opened up for me were very useful.”
How will Prince Andrew raise the money?
Who benefits from Prince Andrew’s payment is not clear from the lawyers’ statement. There is talk that Andrew will pay a substantial sum to a Guiffre charity that works to help victims of abuse. Experts suspect that Guiffre will also receive money himself, among other things to pay for her legal fees.
The question of how Andrew raises the money is now hotly debated on social networks. The prince recently sold his ski chalet in Switzerland for several million. But the “Daily Telegraph” writes that the Queen will support Andrew, and royal house expert Emily Andrews also thinks that is realistic:
Andrew has his Royal Navy pension and an allowance from the Queen. Buckingham Palace will never admit it, but there is a suspicion that the Queen will pay much of the money for the settlement from her private fortune – not from taxpayers’ money, mind you.
Prince Andrew will probably remain a hermit
Opinions differ on who is better off after the comparison – the accused Prince Andrew or the plaintiff Virginia Guiffre. British media lawyer Mark Stephens thinks both sides would benefit:
The comparison is an honorable way out for both of them. Guiffre gets the admission that she was an abuse victim, gets money, and gets Andrew to pay for abuse victims and their lawyers. And she avoids an unpleasant procedure in court. Andrew also avoids the process, but has to pay a lot of money, there is a non-disclosure agreement about how much. He’s certainly not rehabilitated, but he did what was in his power with the settlement for the royal family.
In the settlement, Andrew agrees to become involved in the fight against sex trafficking and to advocate for victims of abuse in the future. He will probably have to do this discreetly, because Mark Stephens is certain that Andrew will continue to lead the life of a hermit and will never appear on a royal balcony again.
Prince Andrew’s ties to Epstein’s abuse ring
Because of the allegations and his previous contacts with Epstein, Prince Andrew gave up his royal duties in 2019 and largely withdrew from the public. In January, he lost his military titles and royal patronage as the royal family clearly distanced themselves from him.
A trial in New York would probably have taken place in the fall and attracted huge media attention. Virginia Giuffre claims to have been a victim of the abuse ring set up by US multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein and his ex-partner Ghislaine Maxwell when she was a minor. According to her own statements, she was repeatedly referred to Andrew for abuse.
Maxwell, who has been friends with Andrew for many years, was recently found guilty by a court in a US criminal case on several counts, including trafficking in children for abuse purposes, and faces a long prison sentence. Epstein took his own life while in custody in 2019.
No trial in New York – Prince Andrew agrees with alleged abuse victim
Peter Mücke, ARD New York, February 15, 2022 at 6:36 p.m