Queen to ‘help pay £12m’ Prince Andrew civil sex case settlement

The money will be going to Virginia Giuffre and her charity

Prince Andrew will pay Virginia Giuffre a reported £12m as part of an agreement reached to end her civil lawsuit. Giuffre had accused the royal of sexually abusing and raping her on three separate occasions when she was 17 and under the control of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. On Tuesday, the two parties announced they had reached an out-of-court settlement, meaning that Andrew will not face a jury trial over the claims, which was due to take place on March 17. A statement about the agreement read: "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." The statement added that the terms of the deal stopped either side from discussing the case or the settlement in public and that the financial sum involved would not be disclosed. But according to the Telegraph, the Duke of York will pay Giuffre and her charity more than £12m, an amount that will partly be funded by the Queen's private estate. https://twitter.com/nazirafzal/status/1493710811495346187 The Queen's contribution to the settlement will come from her Duchy of Lancaster estate, which is worth more than £23m. It is not clear exactly how much of the settlement will be covered by the Queen. The Telegraph also reports that negotiations between the royal's and Giuffre's people lasted at least 10 days, with the deal eventually agreed at the weekend. As part of the financial settlement, the Duke will make a "substantial" donation to Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights. Prince Andrew has always denied the allegations, and the statement contained no admission of liability or apology. It did say that the prince regrets his association with Epstein. Despite the settlement, the Duke is not expected to take part in any Jubilee celebrations this year and will not be regaining his royal privileges or titles that were removed from him in January. Related links:

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