Prince Andrew (62) was sued by Virginia Giuffre (39) in the United States for sexual abuse, and an out-of-court settlement was reached in mid-February 2022. The Duke of York, who has always denied the allegations, is said to have paid Giuffre millions. Against the agreement, the brother of King Charles III. (74) may now want to proceed.
As Britain's The Sun reports, Prince Andrew is said to be expected to argue that he's never met Virginia Giuffre and that the infamous photo of the two is a fake. The ex-confidant of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (1953-2019), Ghislaine Maxwell (61), who was sentenced to 20 years in prison, recently exonerated Prince Andrew in her first TV interview from prison, according to "The Sun". For one, she doesn't recall him ever spending time with alleged abuse victim Virginia Giuffre in the US or UK. Second, Maxwell claims that the famous photo of the Duke of York standing next to Maxwell with his arm around Giuffre, who was 17 at the time, is a fake.
A source told The Sun that Andrew now wants to "prove" his innocence in a US court. He said he had previously been pressured to settle the case so as not to overshadow the Queen's platinum jubilee, "and has paid a heavy price personally and professionally." Andrew stepped down from all royal duties in 2019 due to the Epstein scandal. Titles were also stripped from him.
The king is said to be happy that his brother is now pursuing this, the insider explained. "As a monarch, he cannot publicly support him, but Andrew is still his brother and he wants what is best for him." Financially, the prince should have enough funds for a legal challenge. On the one hand, he is said to have sold the joint Swiss ski chalet with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson (63) last year for ten million pounds (more than eleven million euros), on the other hand Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) gave him supposedly left an inheritance of "several millions".
British media had previously reported that the out-of-court settlement was said to be for a sum of £12 million (a little less than 14 million euros). According to the Telegraph, the Queen is said to have helped her second eldest son to raise the sum.
