Prince Andrew is “finished” and should live in “ignominy”, the British press said on Wednesday, assuring that Isabel II’s son would pay up to 16 million dollars to avoid a trial for sexual assault on a minor in the United States.
(Read: Prince Andrew settles lawsuit for sexual assault)
The lawyers of Virginia Giuffre, the American who accused him of having sexually abused her in 2001, when she was 17 years old, announced Tuesday a confidential financial agreement that allows Andrés, 61, to escape the embarrassment of a process. And that raises the question of who will bear the onerous account.
(Don’t miss: The accusation that has Prince Andrew on the verge of a US trial.)
Details of the deal were not disclosed, but the newspaper DailyMirror assures that the prince will disburse 12 million pounds (16.3 million dollars or 14.3 million euros): 10 million for Giuffre and 2 million for the charity that she founded last year to help victims of sex trafficking .
According to other newspapers, the amount would be lower: Guardian estimates it at more than 7 million pounds, not including the “millionaire” legal costs, and the Daily Mail talk about 10 million pounds. contacted by the AFPa spokeswoman for Andres declined to comment.
According to the British press, Andrés could have sold his luxurious Swiss chalet for about 18 million pounds (24 million dollars, 21 million euros), but would still have to pay a significant debt for this acquisition. So Elizabeth II should contribute from her own pocket, says the Daily Telegraph.
Andrés is finished” and “must withdraw completely from public life and live his retirement in ignominy
Giuffre, 38, is one of the victims of American billionaire Jeffrey Epsteinconvicted of pederasty by a Florida court, who committed suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting another trial for trafficking and child abuse.
Andrés’s friendship with this financier, which he defended in a highly controversial interview in 2019, caused a scandal that had already forced him to withdraw from public life. But the queen’s son always denied Guiffre’s accusations and said that he would defend himself. Perhaps that is why the British tabloid press was so angry after the settlement.
“A man truly determined to clear his name of such heinous accusations would have fought tooth and nail,” says an editorial in The Sun.
For British lawyer Mark Stephens, a specialist in reputation issues, “most people will see the payment of damages to someone that Prince Andrew says he has never met” with surprise. The queen’s son “has preserved to a certain extent the dignity of the royal family (…) but I think he will not return” to public life, he tells AFP.
Isabel II would like to close a particularly embarrassing scandal the year in which she celebrates her Platinum Jubilee -70 years of reign- with which she seeks to rekindle the love of the British for the monarchy. To protect the institution, she had deprived Andrew of his military honors, who can no longer use the title of Royal Highness from him.
But the scandals don’t stop here
For its part, this Wednesday the police announced that they had opened an investigation into the foundation of Prince Charles, the eldest son of the monarch. Although this case does not personally concern the 73-year-old heir to the throne, it is suspected that his former valet, Michael Fawcett, used his influence to help a Saudi businessman.
According to the investigation, Fawcett would have helped him obtain a royal decoration, which later served to support his request for British citizenship, in exchange for generous donations. However, the Prince of Wales’s press service reiterated on Wednesday that he was “unaware of the alleged offer” from Fawcett.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP and EFE
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