In the end there was nowhere left to hide, and there were no good options remaining. Since 2015, Prince Andrew has sought to discredit allegations of sexual abuse made against him by Virginia Giuffre, who claims that as a teenager she was repeatedly forced to sleep with him by the sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The prince has repeatedly denied this and, in a car-crash interview with BBC Newsnight, said he had no recollection of ever meeting her. As the screws tightened and Ms Giuffre filed a civil damages claim last year, his lawyers accused her of seeking a “payday”, questioned her mental health and tried to have the lawsuit thrown out on technical grounds.
All in vain. But it was only when the Duke of York’s back was against the wall, and cross-examination under oath before a jury loomed, that he threw in the towel on Tuesday and settled. The amount to be paid by the prince remains undisclosed, but Ms Giuffre’s lawyers have previously suggested that it would need to be large enough to represent “a vindication” of her claim. The accompanying statement by both parties contains no admission of wrongdoing on Prince Andrew’s part, but the formerly dismissive prince recognises his accuser’s bravery in standing up for herself and her status as a victim of sexual abuse. He states that he never intended to malign her character. This was anything but a legal score-draw. The settlement represents a major victory for an abused young woman from a modest background. Ms Giuffre’s determination to hold the wealthy, powerful and connected to account for their actions has been spectacularly validated.
