The Duke of York, in his role as colonel of the Grenadier Guards, at a memorial in Bruges to mark the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of the Belgian town.
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A lawsuit accusing Britain’s Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting an underage girl while she was under the control of sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein and his procurer Ghislaine Maxwell has been settled out of court, a court filing revealed Tuesday.
The sum of the money that Andrew has agreed to pay his accuser Virginia Giuffre was not disclosed in the filing, which said the prince also will make “a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights.”
The bombshell development came in Manhattan federal court, where Andrew had failed in attempts to get the suit by Giuffre tossed out, and after he had been stripped of military titles and other honorifics related to being a member of Britain’s royal family.
The tentative settlement means the lawsuit is expected to be dismissed soon by the judge in the case.
In a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan, Giuffre’s high-powered lawyer David Boies wrote, “We write jointly with counsel for defendant to advise the Court that the parties reached a settlement in principle of the above-referenced action.”
“The parties anticipate filing a stipulation of dismissal of the case within thirty (30) days,” Boies wrote. “In the interim, the parties request that the Court suspend all deadlines and hold the action in abeyance.”
A document referenced in the letter, which was attached to the filing, said, “Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out of court settlement.”
“The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms. Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed). Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre’s charity in
support of victims’ rights.”
“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,” the statement says. “Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others. 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.”
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