An Australian TV presenter says there’s still a burning question that needs to be answered after Prince Andrew reached a settlement on Tuesday with his longtime accuser Virginia Giuffre in her sexual assault lawsuit against him.
Sunrise host Natalie Barr asked why someone who protests his innocence – which the Duke of York has always done – would agree to a substantial payout, believed to be in the region of £7.5million (AU$14.2million).
She posed the question on Wednesday during a discussion with journalist Russell Myers, the royal editor of Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper.
Barr asked if the settlement was tantamount to an admission of guilt, to which Myers replied that Andrew’s settlement makes no admission of guilt, and the payment was most likely agreed upon to save the Royal Family from the embarrassment of a trial.
Sunrise host Natalie Barr (left, with British journalist Russell Myers) says there’s still a burning question that needs to be answered after Prince Andrew reached a settlement on Tuesday with his longtime accuser Virginia Giuffre in her sexual assault lawsuit against him
Myers added that he suspects the Royal Family is ‘breathing a sigh of relief’ now the matter won’t be going to court in the United States.
Barr then asked the burning question: why agree to a payout if you’re innocent?
‘Yeah, I suppose the obvious question is: if he didn’t do anything, why is he paying any money? Would the palace have influenced the decision?’ she asked.
Myers agreed the Royal Family likely pushed Andrew to settle, after he’d previously protested his innocence and indicated he wanted a jury trial in New York.
She asked why someone who protests his innocence – which the Duke of York has always done – would agree to a substantial payout, believed to be in the region of AU$14.2million
‘This had been an absolutely stain on the monarchy for many months now, and with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee coming up… it would have been unthinkable for this to go to trial,’ he added.
Myers went on to say: ‘Many people will be hoping that he sort of fades into the background now.’
Andrew and Giuffre have settled a sexual assault lawsuit for an undisclosed sum, a U.S. court filing showed Tuesday, sparing the disgraced British royal the public humiliation of a civil trial.
Andrew (left in April 2021) and Giuffre (right October 2019) have settled a sexual assault lawsuit for an undisclosed sum, a U.S. court filing showed Tuesday, sparing the disgraced British royal the public humiliation of a civil trial
In a letter sent to a New York judge on behalf of both parties, Giuffre’s lawyer David Boies wrote that they ‘have reached an out of court settlement,’ without revealing the financial terms.
However, it has since been reported the settlement is worth £7.5million (AU$14.2million or US$10.15million).
As part of the agreement, the royal will make a ‘substantial donation’ to a charity established by Giuffre that supports sex trafficking victims, Boies said.
Giuffre has said she had sex with Andrew when she was 17 and a minor under U.S. law after meeting him through the late U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison while awaiting trial for sex crimes.
The prince has not been criminally charged and has denied the allegations.
The settlement means the civil case will not go to a jury trial. It also means Andrew, 61, will no longer be questioned under oath by Giuffre’s lawyers, who had been due to travel to London next month.
Boies said in the document filed in a Manhattan court that the respective parties would file a stipulation dismissing the case within 30 days upon ‘receipt of the settlement.’
The letter makes no mention of Giuffre’s accusations. Neither does it admit any guilt on behalf of Andrew or refer to the repeated denials he has made.
It said that Andrew ‘regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.’
‘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.
‘He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims,’ the letter added.
The controversy has embarrassed the British monarchy and overshadowed Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee year in which she marks 70 years on the throne.
Andrew was last month stripped of his honorary military titles and charitable roles after US judge Lewis Kaplan denied his plea to dismiss Giuffre’s case.
Former prosecutor-turned law professor Bennett Gershman said the settlement was ‘very good news’ for Andrew because it gets him out of testifying while not having to acknowledge any improper conduct towards Giuffre.
‘His relief must be palpable,’ Gershman said.
Lawyer Lisa Bloom, who represents eight of Epstein’s victims, hailed the settlement as a ‘victory’ for Giuffre, however.
‘She has accomplished what no one else could: getting Prince Andrew to stop his nonsense and side with sexual abuse victims,’ Bloom tweeted.
Giuffre (here with Andrew and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell) claims she had sex with the duke when she was 17 and a minor under U.S. law after meeting him through the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison while awaiting trial for sex crimes
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