Alexis Guilleux 11:09 a.m., February 16, 2022
While he was soon to be confronted with the lawyers of Viriginia Giuffre, Prince Andrew found a financial agreement with the young woman who accused him of sexual assault dating back to 2001 when she was still a minor.
The British crown thus avoids a potentially explosive trial.
Will the British Crown finally turn the page on a scandal that has hurt it a lot?
Prince Andrew has reached an amicable agreement with Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused him of sexual assault when she was still a minor.
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The amount of the deal was not made public.
Prince Andrew will not have to testify before the lawyers of his accuser in the coming weeks.
His testimony was however eagerly awaited because the Prince seemed to have resolved to a civil trial in New York.
Andrew says he doesn't remember Virginia Giuffre
In a letter, Andrew explains that he never intended to denigrate Virginia Giuffre, but this letter does not mention the accusations of assault, which the prince has always denied.
He even said he did not remember the young woman, while photos exist showing them all smiles holding each other by the waist.
Virginie Giuffre accused him of having sexually assaulted her when she was still a minor, in 2001 in New York, London and the British Virgin Islands in residences of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Prince Andrew says he regrets his ties with the American billionaire, who was found dead in prison in 2019. He praised the courage of Virginie Giuffre and the victims who spoke up to defend themselves.
He will also pay a large donation to the association of his accuser.
Fallen into disgrace, the prince had to retire from public life in 2019. He had even been stripped of his military titles by the queen.
This agreement therefore avoids a trial that promised to be explosive for the crown of England.