We told you on Tuesday about the shocking news that Prince Andrew had given up the fight and decided to settle the sexual assault lawsuit against him. We guess he was starting to sweat after all, eh?
The suit came about as a result of the Duke of York’s long established relationship with the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his partner-in-crime Ghislaine Maxwell. After Maxwell’s conviction on sex trafficking charges, the accusations against Prince Andrew was given new life, in a legal sense, anyway. Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has maintained for years that she was coerced by Epstein into having sex with Andrew on more than one occasion, including when she was just 17 years old, finally filed a sexual assault lawsuit last year.
Though Andrew professed both his innocence and his intentions to fight it out in court, he did a full 180 on Monday, settling for an unknown sum. Considering Virginia’s lawyer David Boies previously stated they wouldn’t take the money while he was still denying even knowing her — as he did in that awful interview — we knew it had to be a lot. Especially as Boies ended that declaration with:
“That said, if you had a settlement that was large enough to be, in effect, a vindication, then it’s something we would obviously look at.”
So how large are we talking? Well, someone must have leaked to the press in the UK because several outlets, including The Telegraph, are reporting the number to a whopping 12 million. That’s pounds, mind you. In US dollars, we’re talking north of $16 mil!
Yowza! That’s a lot of little pictures of Andrew’s mum!
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Even for a man of such wealth, that’s a sizable sum. Add to that the man was stripped of his royal titles as a result of this scandal, and we have to wonder how he can afford it — and whether Queen Elizabeth herself would be forced to pay! Royal finances expert David McClure told The Sun:
“I think if the figure does turn out to be in the order of £5million to 10million, I don’t think he has that money and I think it is more than likely the Queen will fork out some money.”
And as we know it turned out to be well over that!
OK, he doesn’t have liquid money, but what about the Duke’s assets? His real estate properties?? While Andrew had purchased an £18 million ski chalet a few years ago, that property was also tied up in a legal dispute. There was also Sunninghill Park, the enormous 12-bedroom country house he reportedly sold that to the son of the autocratic ruler of Kazakhstan — another scandal he’s been adjacent to, though one that may actually have netted him some legal funds.
Of course, considering that estate was gifted to him by his mother, the Queen would still have ended up paying for his sexual assault settlement in a roundabout way, wouldn’t she?
But according to the Telegraph, that’s not the case. Nor is she just helping out. No, they are reporting she’s footing the whole damn bill herself! Supposedly this is from her private Duchy of Lancaster estate and NOT taxpayer money. But still, a mother having to pay for her son’s sex pest case? Shameful.
Of course, that may have been part of how The Firm convinced Andrew to settle in the first place. Rumor has it, the Duke was strong-armed into giving up the legal battle by his elder brother, Prince Charles, who just wanted the damned thing over with as the Queen’s Jubilee celebration approached.
As to the rumors, the Palace told PEOPLE they “have never commented on the financial aspects of the Duke’s private legal affairs and won’t be now.” Frankly, considering even the chance the money could be coming from taxpayers, the possibility they could be forced to unwillingly donate to the fund to silence Prince Andrew’s teen sex trafficking accuser? We think they have a right to know for sure.
What do YOU think, Perezcious readers and Royal aficionados??
[Image via BBC/WENN/Avalon.]
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