Emily Maitlis claimed tonight that Prince Andrew’s statement within his out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre appears to contradict the answers he gave in his now-infamous Newsnight interview.
The BBC broadcaster sat down with the Duke of York in Buckingham Palace in 2019 to discuss Miss Giuffre’s claims that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17 under the orders of the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The prince strongly denied the claims throughout the interview, and continues to even after the agreement which was sensationally struck on Tuesday.
The discussion, in which Andrew made a series of claims – including insisting he couldn’t have been with Miss Giuffre at the time because he was dining at Pizza Express in Woking, and that a medical condition left him unable to sweat – has since gained notoriety and is widely acknowledged to have embarrassed the royals.
Now Ms Maitlis has revealed her own thoughts following Tuesday’s settlement, in which the Duke is set to pay a figure believed to be around £12m.
Emily Maitlis claimed tonight that Prince Andrew’s statement within his out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre does not deal with the answers he gave in his now-infamous Newsnight interview
The BBC broadcaster sat down with the Duke of York in Buckingham Palace in 2019 to discuss Miss Giuffre’s claims that she was forced to have sex with Andrew, allegations he continues to deny
Virginia Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew ‘three times, including one orgy’, with the first encounter allegedly taking place in Ms Maxwell’s London townhouse after they met at the Tramp nightclub on March 10. Recalling the alleged meeting, Andrew was said to be ‘sweating profusely’
Writing for the BBC, she said: ‘At the heart of the settlement is the biggest question of all: why is a Prince who told me he had ‘no recollection of ever meeting this lady’ now paying her what we understand to be upwards of £10m?
‘I distinctly remember putting Virginia Giuffre’s accusations to him directly: ‘She says she met you in 2001, she dined with you, danced with you, you bought her drinks in Tramp nightclub and she went on to have sex with you in a house in Belgravia.’
‘And I have the Prince’s reply in front of me now. Three words only: ‘It didn’t happen.’
‘There are only three possible explanations then for the settlement: either he was lying in that response – and remembered her well; or he genuinely had no recollection – and was adamant they hadn’t met – only for his memory subsequently to be jogged; or that he maintains his innocence, but feels the weight of legal and public opinion against him now make settling the easier option, albeit without accepting any liability.’
Ms Maitlis went on to clarify that it was not her place to declare which was true, but pointed to the careful wording of the settlement statement, which she said ‘put distance between an acknowledgement of Giuffre’s pain – and any responsibility he may or may not have had for it’.
She also admitted she was ‘journalistically disappointed’ that the case, and the full story, will not be played out in court.
‘There would have been huge satisfaction in the sense of an ending – any ending – that saw the prince make his legal defence so comprehensively,’ she wrote.
It comes as calls intensified today for the financial arrangements of Andrew’s settlement to be revealed as Buckingham Palace again refused to say whether it could be partially funded by the Queen.
His mother is expected to foot some of the bill in a bid to draw a line under it before her much-anticipated Platinum Jubilee celebrations this summer.
But there is anger at how the Queen, 95, has effectively been forced to bail out the ‘disgraced’ Duke, 61, whose modest pension from his time in the Royal Navy is now his only visible income – amid demands for the public to be told who is financing the deal.
Andrew has been dogged by questions over the source of his wealth for years, and is believed to have relied on handouts from the Queen, personal investments and bequests from relatives such as the Queen Mother.
Prince Andrew waves goodbye to a woman he let out the door at Jeffrey Epstein’s New York home in 2010
The Duke of York pictured leaving the famous Chinawhite nightclub in London at around 2am in July 2000
Graham Smith, from anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, insisted taxpayers ‘deserve to know where the money is coming from for a settlement, which we must assume is in the millions, if not tens of millions’.
But the Queen’s Communications Secretary, Donal McCabe, told MailOnline today: ‘We have never commented on the financial arrangements of The Duke’s legal matters and will not be going forward.’
But there is anger at how the Queen has effectively been forced to bail out the ‘disgraced’ Duke of York, 61, whose modest pension from his time in the Royal Navy is now his only visible income – amid calls for the public to be told who is financing the deal.
Sources also pointed out while there will now be a ‘period of silence’ during the Jubilee celebrations when both parties will have to stick to the terms of yesterday’s carefully-worded statement, Mrs Giuffre would then not be stopped from writing a lucrative book telling her story which could hit the shelves in time for Christmas.
Prince Charles was said to have been supported by the Queen in making it clear to Andrew that he had no choice but to settle with Mrs Giuffre, with one source telling MailOnline that Charles had ‘had enough of the situation’ and ‘would have said to Andrew that he needed to get this sorted out as soon as possible’.
A senior Royal Household member told the Standard that Charles and the Queen ‘could not countenance another disastrous appearance by the Duke of York, in light of his BBC interview’, adding: ‘Decisive action was needed. There was little choice. He had to see sense.’
While Andrew is thought to be holed up at his Royal Lodge home in Windsor today, on the other side of the world a box of beers and a bouquet of flowers were being delivered to Mrs Giuffre and her husband Robert’s home in Perth, Australia.
And her father Sky Roberts told the Sun: ‘I knew he would settle out of court. That was a complete bluff. I think Virginia will be happy.’
Meanwhile, despite the settlement, it is feared the scandal could still overshadow poignant Platinum Jubilee celebrations for the UK in the coming months.
Also today, the Metropolitan Police said they have no plans to reopen their own probe into Andrew despite calls for officers to re-examine evidence after the deal.
Royal author Angela Levin told Sky News today: ‘I think that the Queen would have given him a big telling off and said ‘I can’t have this hanging over me for the rest of the year – I don’t want you to spoil my Platinum Jubilee. I’m the only royal who’s lasted 70 years on the throne, and you’ve got to sort it out’.’
She added: ‘I admire the Queen hugely as everybody does, and I don’t want it to spoil anything for her, but I still think this is hanging over the country and the Royal Family and is going to go right through to the end of the year and maybe into next year, and there’s no real way of cutting it off.
‘Obviously that (a ban on Mrs Giuffre saying anything) was something that they could have put in the agreement and they haven’t, and so it implies that there’s a lot she (Mrs Giuffre) wants to say that Andrew will not want to hear.’
The settlement, which was agreed between lawyers in a sensational development yesterday, comes just weeks after Andrew vowed to contest the rape claims by Mrs Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts, at a public trial.
Mrs Giuffre had alleged she was forced to have sex with the Duke three times when she was 17 under the orders of the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Only last month, she was given the go-ahead to sue Andrew for unspecified damages in a New York civil court.
But despite vowing to fight the claims and repeatedly protesting his innocence, the Prince yesterday agreed to pay a huge sum to settle the case before it ever reaches a jury.
The long and sordid saga that ended with royal outcast Andrew settling rape lawsuit: From meeting Epstein to being accused of raping his ‘sex slave’ and THAT Pizza Express alibi
By Rory Tingle and James Robinson for MailOnline
It has been more than two decades since Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein first crossed paths.
That meeting would set in motion years of damaging allegations, embarrassing interviews and eventually a US lawsuit against the Queen’s third son.
Over the next 23 years, Epstein would go on to abuse and sex traffic young girls across the world on his private jet with his madame Ghislaine Maxwell – the woman who would introduce the financier to Prince Andrew – by his side.
Though he would go on to take his own life in prison while awaiting trial for his sex trafficking crimes, and ultimately robbing his victims of justice, the fallout would continue for those around him.
Maxwell would end up in a US prison, herself found guilty of sex trafficking for Epstein, while Prince Andrew would face accusations of sexual assault by one Epstein victim, Virginia Giuffre.
Determined to clear his name, Prince Andrew would agree to a toe-curling BBC in which he claimed he couldn’t have had sex with Ms Giuffre, because he was at Pizza Express at the time.
But Giuffre would continue to pursue the royal, eventually launching a US civil case against him – which has now ended in a settlement.
Here MailOnline takes a look at the sordid saga, from start to finish:
1999: Andrew first meets Epstein, reportedly introduced through his friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell.
Andrew welcomes Epstein to the Queen’s private Scottish retreat in Aberdeenshire. Andrew later says he sees Epstein ‘infrequently’, adding ‘probably no more than only once or twice a year’.
2000: Andrew and Ms Maxwell are seen on holiday with Epstein at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Epstein and Ms Maxwell attend a party at Windsor Castle hosted by the Queen to mark Andrew’s 40th birthday, the Princess Royal’s 50th, the Queen Mother’s 100th and Princess Margaret’s 70th.
2001: Virginia Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew ‘three times, including one orgy’, with the first encounter allegedly taking place in Ms Maxwell’s London townhouse after they met at the Tramp nightclub on March 10. Recalling the alleged meeting, Andrew was said to be ‘sweating profusely’.
Virginia Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew ‘three times, including one orgy’, with the first encounter allegedly taking place in Ms Maxwell’s London townhouse after they met at the Tramp nightclub on March 10. Recalling the alleged meeting, Andrew was said to be ‘sweating profusely’
The Duke would later claim in his infamous BBC interview that this could have never happened because he was at a children’s party at a branch of Pizza Express in Woking. In the same interview he says he has a medical condition after being shot at during the Falklands War that left him ‘unable to sweat’ because Ms Roberts, who was 17 at the time, claimed that they danced together and he had been ‘sweating profusely’
Ms Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew on two more occasions, at Epstein’s New York home and at an ‘orgy’ on his private island in the Caribbean.
2008: Epstein admits prostituting minors and is sentenced to 18 months in prison.
2010: Epstein is released from jail. Andrew is photographed with the disgraced Epstein in New York’s Central Park.
Footage emerges years later, reportedly shot on December 6 2010, showing him inside Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, from where he is seen looking out from a large door of the property waving a woman goodbye after Epstein leaves to get into a chauffeur-driven car.
2011: The duke quits his role as UK trade envoy after the fallout from the Central Park photos.
2015: Buckingham Palace denies Andrew has committed any impropriety after he is named in US court documents related to Epstein. A woman, later named in reports as Ms Roberts, alleges in papers filed in Florida that she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, which is under the age of consent in the state.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Andrew, in his first public engagement since he was embroiled in the allegations, responds, saying: ‘Firstly I think I must, and want, for the record, to refer to the events that have taken place in the last few weeks. I just wish to reiterate, and to reaffirm, the statements that have already been made on my behalf by Buckingham Palace.’
In April the claims against Andrew are struck from US civil court records following a federal judge’s ruling.
Newly released legal documents show that Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged Epstein victim, claims Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire’s Manhattan apartment in 2001. Buckingham Palace denies the allegations
2019: Newly released legal documents show that Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged Epstein victim, claims Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire’s Manhattan apartment in 2001.
Buckingham Palace says the allegations are ‘categorically untrue’. Epstein is found dead in his jail cell on August 10, having killed himself after being charged with sex trafficking.
Later that month a pilot on Epstein’s private jet claims Andrew was a passenger on past flights with the financier and Ms Roberts.
The Sun newspaper reported that David Rodgers said in a testimony released in August that Epstein, Andrew and the-then 17-year-old travelled to the US Virgin Islands on April 11 2001.
Buckingham Palace describes the evidence statement as having ‘a number of inconsistencies’ and said that Andrew was on a different continent in some cases.
Following Epstein’s death, a statement from the palace says that Andrew is ‘appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes’.
Breaking his silence on the issue for the first time since 2015, Andrew then releases a statement on August 24 saying: ‘At no stage during the limited time I spent with him (Epstein) did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.’
On November 16, the prince gives a ‘disastrous’ BBC interview in which he speaks about his friendship with Epstein and addresses allegations of his own sexual conduct.
On November 16, the prince gives a ‘disastrous’ BBC interview in which he speaks about his friendship with Epstein and addresses allegations of his own sexual conduct
He faced a barrage of criticism following his television appearance, with the royal accused of a lack of empathy with Epstein’s victims.
During the interview, Andrew, questioned by Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, twice stated his relationship with Epstein, who died in jail while facing sex trafficking charges, had some ‘seriously beneficial outcomes’, giving him the opportunity to meet people and prepare for a future role as a trade envoy.
The royal maintained he did not recall meeting Ms Roberts and did not spend time with her at Tramp Nightclub in London on March 10 in 2001 after which she claims the pair first had sex.
The duke denies sleeping with her on three separate occasions, saying the encounter in 2001 did not happen as he had taken his daughter Princess Beatrice to Pizza Express in Woking for a party, and they spent the rest of the day together.
The duke denies sleeping with her on three separate occasions, saying the encounter in 2001 did not happen as he had taken his daughter Princess Beatrice to Pizza Express in Woking for a party, and they spent the rest of the day together.
He also said a medical condition after being shot at during the Falklands War left him ‘unable to sweat’ because Ms Roberts, who was 17 at the time, claimed that they danced together and he had been ‘sweating profusely’.
The Duke of York said: ‘I was with the children and I’d taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking for a party at I suppose sort of 4 or 5 in the afternoon.
‘And then because the Duchess was away, we have a simple rule in the family that when one is away the other one is there.
‘I was on terminal leave at the time from the Royal Navy so therefore I was at home.’
However he continues to strongly deny any wrongdoing and claims he has never even met Ms Roberts, now a mother-of-three living in Australia who goes by her married name, Virginia Giuffre.
Following the disastrous interview, which is widely panned, Prince Andrew announces in November that he will step back from frontline royal duties for the ‘foreseeable future’. A number of companies with association to the prince step back.
He says at the time he deeply sympathises with sex offender Epstein’s victims and everyone who ‘wants some form of closure’.
2020: With the Covid pandemic occupying much of the news and the minds of the British public, Prince Andrew has the chance to lie low, which he does, in Windsor Castle.
Andrew hires Gary Bloxsome, a UK criminal defence solicitor, early in the year, just weeks after his car-crash Newsnight interview.
Despite him lying low, talk continues to flow in newspapers like The Telegraph and The Times that he is planning a ‘rebranding’ and hopes to one day return to frontline royal duties.
He is praised by one senior palace aide for not appearing in official wedding photographs at the marriage of his daughter Princess Beatrice to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. One said it shows a ‘level of maturity’ from Prince Andrew.
Prince Andrew is praised by one senior palace aide for not appearing in official wedding photographs at the marriage of his daughter Princess Beatrice to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. One said it shows a ‘level of maturity’ from Prince Andrew
However, despite attempting to keep a low-profile, the headlines continue for Prince Andrew.
In February the US attorney for the Southern District of New York claims prosecutors and the FBI had repeatedly contacted the Duke of York’s lawyers to follow up on his previous pledge that he was ‘willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency’.
In November, Lisa Bloom, who represents six of Epstein’s alleged victims, cals on Andrew to submit to an interview with the FBI in their investigation into Ghislaine Maxwell. Sources close to Andrew say he is willing to speak to the FBI.
2021: In August, Virginia Giuffre files a lawsuit in the US against Andrew accusing him of sexual assault. In the civil case she alleges she had sex with Andrew and he was aware of her age.
She also claims hat she was a victim of sex trafficking when she was forced to have sex with him in 2001.
‘I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me. The powerful and the rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions,’ she said in a statement via her lawyers in August that year.
Andrew continues to vehemently denies the claim. He hires US defence attorney Andrew Brettler to represent him. He describes the lawsuit as ‘baseless, non-viable, and possibly unlawful.’
Initially there is some debate over whether Prince Andrew has received the lawsuit. His lawyers claim the royal has not been properly served.
Giuffre’s lawyers claim the legal papers were handed over to a Metropolitan police officer on duty at the main gates of Andrew’s Windsor Great Park home on 27 August.
David Boies, representing Giuffre, said the complaint had been ‘delivered to the last known address of the defendant’. He added that the documents had also been sent ‘by Royal Mail’.
David Boies, representing Giuffre, said the complaint had been ‘delivered to the last known address of the defendant’. He added that the documents had also been sent ‘by Royal Mail’
A previously secret 2009 settlement between Giuffre and Epstein is raised. Prince Andrew’s lawyers claim the settlement protects the royal from Giuffre lawsuit. The judge agrees to unseal the agreement.
Lawyers for the Duke of York also file a motion claiming Giuffre currently lives in Australia and so the court does not have jurisdiction to hold the lawsuit. But her lawyers argue the civil case was properly filed in Manhattan federal court because she is a citizen of Colorado and some of the sexual misconduct she alleges took place in the state of New York.
Meanwhile, a jury in New York finds Epstein’s former madame Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of sex-trafficking.
The British socialist is also found guilty of conspiracy to entice individuals under the age of 17 to travel in interstate commerce with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity, conspiracy to transport individuals under the age of 17 to travel in interstate commerce with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity; transportation of an individual under the age of 17 with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity; and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of individuals under the age of 18.
A jury in New York finds Epstein’s former madame Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured in a court sketch) guilty of sex-trafficking.
On December 30, Giuffre hits back. Her legal team ask the prince’s lawyers to prove he cannot sweat in a court filing. The request is made in relation to Prince Andrew’s claims in his disastrous 2019 Newsnight interview.
In the filing, it says: ‘If Prince Andrew truly has no documents concerning his communications with Maxwell or Epstein, his travel to Florida, New York, or various locations in London, his alleged medical inability to sweat, or anything that would support the alibis he gave during his BBC interview, then continuing with discovery will not be burdensome to him at all’.
2022: The 2009 agreement between Giuffre and Epstein is unsealed. It shows Giuffre settled with Epstein for $500,000. In the settlement, Giuffre is show to agree not to go after ‘other potential defendants,’ defined as ‘second parties’. But it does not specifically name Prince Andrew. His legal team say he is included under ‘other potential defendants’ and ask the judge to throw out the case.
Alongside attempting to use the Epstein agreement to shield Prince Andrew, his legal team claim Giuffre hadn’t sufficiently alleged any violations of the New York Penal Code.
They also argued that Giuffre’s allegations would have been time-barred by the statute of limitations if not for the 2019 New York Child Victims Act, which they labeled ‘unconstitutional’ and that Giuffre’s allegations in her complaint were not sufficiently detailed.
But in a major blow to Prince Andrew case, a New York judge throws out his legal challenge to dismiss the lawsuit and rules it can go ahead.
A day later, the Queen strips Andrew of a range of military affiliations and royal patronages after more than 150 veterans write to describe their ‘upset and anger’.
Nearly two-thirds of Britons believe Prince Andrew should lose his Duke of York title after settling US sex assault lawsuit, YouGov poll reveals as Palace says it has NO plans to strip him of it
Nearly two-thirds of Britons believe Prince Andrew should lose his Duke of York title after settling US sex assault lawsuit, a YouGov poll reveals.
The survey, of 2,658 adults in Great Britain today, found some 62 per cent felt he should lose the title, despite Buckingham Palace saying earlier it has no plans to strip him of it.
The poll also revealed 82 per cent of the public thought Andrew should continue to lay low and not return to royal duties any time soon.
A number of locals in the city of York told MailOnline their views today, with an overwhelming majority feeling he should lose the title.
Bernard Oglesbee, 74, said: ‘He should be stripped off his title definitely. He must be be guilty, or why pay all that money out?’
Wife Val, also 74, stormed: ‘He should be stripped of everything. I have never liked him. I always thought he was a waste of space.’
James Green, 65, said: ‘He absolutely should be stripped of all his titles including Duke of York. I don’t think there is any doubt he is guilty. He has put his foot in it good and proper and he only has himself to blame.’
Annie Wells, 85, who is disabled, said: ‘It is a good job he is the Queen’s son. He would be locked up if he was anyone else. The only good thing I can say about him is he did serve with honours in the Falklands. But if ever shows his face in York I will beat him with my stick.’
Josh Savage, 36, said: ‘Nothing has been totally proved yet, one way or another, and he is the Queen’s son. But I think he might lose the title anyway.’
York florist Richard Bothamley added: ‘I think he will lose the title. It has obviously done him a lot of harm. The whole thing is fiasco. I am quite a patriotic person. So I am pleased for the queen the court case has been resolved.
‘But I don’t think he should keep the title. Who would want him? It is not just this woman it was the circle of people he was mixing with. He has done some wonderful work. But you can’t tell me he did not know what was going on.’
It comes as a palace source today told MailOnline the situation regarding his remaining titles ‘remained unchanged’.
They also include that of Vice Admiral in the Royal Navy and the role of Counsellor of State Today, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said any decisions on his military honorific ‘rests obviously with the Palace’.
Earlier today, Cllr Darryl Smalley, Liberal Democrat executive member of City of York Council, joined Labour MP Rachael Maskell in demanding Andrew abandon his local links.
Fresh scrutiny has been placed on Prince Andrew’s remaining military title – that of Vice Admiral in recognition of his service in the Navy
Mr Wallace was asked today if the Duke of York should be allowed to represent the military.
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, a 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.’
Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, has called on Andrew to withdraw his Duke of York title to ‘show respect’ for its people.
Cllr Darryl Smalley, Liberal Democrat executive member for culture, leisure & communities at City of York Council, agreed.
He told York Mix: ‘Having been stripped of his military roles and royal patronages by the Queen, this should be the end of his direct link with our great city.
‘York’s unique connection to the Crown and the monarch is an important part of our city’s legacy, history and a great source of pride.’
Today, Ben Wallace said any decisions on titles ‘rests obviously with the Palace in the future’
Meanwhile, Ms Maskell welcomed the Duke of York’s pledge to donate money to Mrs Giuffre’s charity which supports victims’ rights, but said his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein had caused ‘deep hurt and embarrassment’ to York residents.
The MP’s calls comes after Prince Andrew today settled the sexual abuse lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre after he agreed an undisclosed deal said to be worth £12million with his accuser without admitting her accusations.
Prince Andrew at York Racecourse to open the new weighing room in May 2015
The monarch is expected to foot part of the bill for her son’s settlement in a bid to draw a line under it before her much-anticipated Platinum Jubilee celebrations this summer.
But there is anger at how the Queen, 95, has effectively been forced to bail out the ‘disgraced’ Duke of York, 61, whose modest pension from his time in the Royal Navy is now his only visible income – amid calls for the public to be told who is financing the deal.
Sources also pointed out that while there will now be a ‘period of silence’ during the Jubilee celebrations when both parties will have to stick to the terms of yesterday’s carefully-worded statement, Mrs Giuffre would then not be stopped from writing a lucrative book telling her story which could hit the shelves in time for Christmas.
Prince Charles was said to have been supported by the Queen in making it clear to Andrew that he had no choice but to settle with Mrs Giuffre, with one source telling MailOnline that Charles had ‘had enough of the situation’ and ‘would have said to Andrew that he needed to get this sorted out as soon as possible’.
Rachael Maskell, who represents York Central, said the royal’s relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein had caused ‘deep hurt and embarrassment’ to York residents
A senior Royal Household member told the Standard that Charles and the Queen ‘could not countenance another disastrous appearance by the Duke of York, in light of his BBC interview’, adding: ‘Decisive action was needed. There was little choice. He had to see sense.’
While Andrew is thought to be holed up at his Royal Lodge home in Windsor today, on the other side of the world a box of beers and a bouquet of flowers were being delivered to Mrs Giuffre and her husband Robert’s home in Perth, Australia.
And her father Sky Roberts told the Sun: ‘I knew he would settle out of court. That was a complete bluff. I think Virginia will be happy.’
Meanwhile, despite the settlement, it is feared that the scandal could still overshadow poignant Platinum Jubilee celebrations for the UK in the coming months. Also today, the Metropolitan Police said they have no plans to reopen their own probe into Andrew despite calls for officers to re-examine evidence after the deal.
Royal author Angela Levin told Sky News today: ‘I think that the Queen would have given him a big telling off and said ‘I can’t have this hanging over me for the rest of the year – I don’t want you to spoil my Platinum Jubilee. I’m the only royal who’s lasted 70 years on the throne, and you’ve got to sort it out’.’
She added: ‘I admire the Queen hugely as everybody does, and I don’t want it to spoil anything for her, but I still think this is hanging over the country and the Royal Family and is going to go right through to the end of the year and maybe into next year, and there’s no real way of cutting it off.
‘Obviously that (a ban on Mrs Giuffre saying anything) was something that they could have put in the agreement and they haven’t, and so it implies that there’s a lot she (Mrs Giuffre) wants to say that Andrew will not want to hear.’
The settlement, which was agreed between lawyers in a sensational development yesterday, comes just weeks after Andrew vowed to contest the rape claims by Mrs Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts, at a public trial.
Mrs Giuffre had alleged she was forced to have sex with the duke three times when she was 17 under the orders of the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Only last month, she was given the go-ahead to sue Andrew for unspecified damages in a New York civil court. But despite vowing to fight the claims and repeatedly protesting his innocence, the prince yesterday agreed to pay a huge sum to settle the case before it ever reaches a jury.
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