The Lawsuit
On August 9, 2021, Virginia Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Prince Andrew (Prince Andrew, Duke of York), alleging he sexually abused her on three occasions:
- At a townhouse owned by Ghislaine Maxwell in London
- At Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan mansion
- At Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James
Giuffre was 17 at the time of the alleged abuse — a minor under US federal law.
The Key Evidence
The photograph: A photograph showing Prince Andrew with his arm around a teenage Virginia Giuffre, with Ghislaine Maxwell in the background, became central to the lawsuit. Andrew denied the photo’s authenticity, then claimed he had “no recollection” of meeting Giuffre.
Flight logs: Epstein’s flight logs documented Prince Andrew traveling on Epstein’s planes, placing him at locations where Giuffre said encounters occurred.
The Starbucks alibi: In his November 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, Andrew stated that on the night Giuffre alleged one encounter occurred (March 2001), he had been at a Pizza Express in Woking and had a medical condition that prevented him from sweating. These claims were widely ridiculed and demolished by evidence.
Legal Battles Over Jurisdiction
Before the settlement, Andrew’s lawyers fought to have the case dismissed, arguing:
- A 2009 settlement between Giuffre and Epstein released all “potential defendants” (including Andrew)
- The court lacked jurisdiction
- Giuffre was not a permanent US resident
Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected these motions in January 2022, ruling the case could proceed to trial.
The Settlement
In February 2022, Prince Andrew reached a settlement with Giuffre:
- Reported settlement amount: £12 million (approximately $16 million)
- Andrew made no admission of liability
- Andrew agreed to make a charitable donation to Giuffre’s victims’ rights organization
- Andrew expressed being “sympathetic” to Epstein’s victims
The settlement prevented further discovery and deposition that could have produced additional damaging evidence.
Aftermath of the Settlement
- Andrew surrendered his honorary military titles and royal patronages
- He was stripped of the ability to use “His Royal Highness” in an official capacity
- He has remained largely withdrawn from public royal duties
- The settlement was widely viewed as containing an implicit admission, given the reported amount