Prince Andrew Admits Epstein ‘Trafficked Young Girls’ in Settlement With Virginia Giuffre

Prince Andrew will avoid the court room after settling a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Queen Elizabeth II’s son of raping her when she was an underage victim of Jeffrey Epstein.

Giuffre’s lawyer, David Boies, announced the settlement in court documents filed Tuesday, Feb. 15. A subsequent filing to officially dismiss the case will be entered within 30 days. The financial terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed, but per Boies’ filing, “Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights.”

The filing continues: “Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks. It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others. He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.”

When asked for additional comment, Boies told Rolling Stone: “I believe this event speaks for itself.”

Lawyers for Prince Andrew did not immediately return a request for comment.

While the deal stipulates that neither side can discuss the terms of the settlement, The Telegraph reported that the sum is over £12 million (about $16 million), and that Queen Elizabeth — who has reportedly helped cover her son’s legal expenses — will help pay the settlement.

Andrew has long denied Giuffre’s allegations against him. Giuffre claimed Epstein trafficked her to Andrew for sex when she was 17, and that she received “express or implied threats” from Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and/or Andrew to perform sexual acts with the disgraced Duke of York. Since Giuffre filed her lawsuit against Andrew in 2021, the royal and his lawyers have tried to get the case dismissed without success; but in a filing issued at the end of January, Andrew appeared eager to fight the accusations in court, demanding that the civil case be moved to trial by jury.

At the same time, however, Andrew was staring down the barrel of discovery, and the decision to settle will ultimately save him from that process. As part of discovery, both Giuffre and Andrew were set to give video depositions under oath, while Giuffre’s lawyers also planned to depose about a dozen additional people, possibly including Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. 

The discovery process would’ve also likely required Andrew and Giuffre to hand over tons of personal information, from text messages to medical records. For instance, in a December 2021 filing, Giuffre’s lawyers demanded Andrew hand over all documents related to his “alleged medical inability to sweat”: Giuffre, as part of her allegation, claimed she remembered Andrew sweating on her at a London nightclub; the royal, in turn, tried to discredit Giiuffre by stating in a BBC interview that since suffering an “overdose of adrenaline” when he was shot at during the Falklands War, he’d been medically unable to perspire. 

This story has been updated.