Overview
In February 2022, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre (Roberts) in the civil lawsuit she had filed against him in August 2021 in the Southern District of New York. The settlement ended litigation that had threatened to expose the British royal family to extraordinary reputational and legal damage.
The Lawsuit
Virginia Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew on August 9, 2021the second anniversary of Epstein’s death. The complaint alleged that:
- Andrew sexually abused her on three occasions when she was 17 years old
- The abuse occurred in London (at Ghislaine Maxwell’s home), on Little Saint James, and in New York
- Epstein and Maxwell directed her to have sex with Andrew
Andrew denied the allegations through his lawyers and publicly in a disastrous November 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, in which he stated he had no memory of meeting Giuffre and claimed an alibi (eating pizza at a Pizza Express in Woking).
Settlement Terms
The February 14, 2022 settlement was filed with the court and included:
- A confidential financial payment estimated by multiple outlets at million, reportedly coming from Andrew personally with family support
- A statement in which Andrew “acknowledges that Virginia Giuffre is an abuse survivor”
- Agreement that Andrew would make a donation to Giuffre’s charitable foundation
- No admission of liability
Royal Consequences
Within days of the settlement announcement:
- The Queen stripped Prince Andrew of his remaining military titles and royal patronages
- Andrew agreed to step back from royal duties indefinitely
- He formally stopped using his HRH designation in public functions
Significance
The settlement meant no trial and no judicial factfinding about the allegations. But the settlement itselfand the -16M payment from a man who had publicly denied even meeting Giuffrewas widely interpreted as acknowledgment of the strength of her claims.