Britain's Prince Andrew, accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl supplied to him by financier Jeffrey Epstein, has agreed to settle by making a substantial donation to his accuser's charity and declaring he never meant to malign her character, a court filing revealed Tuesday.
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The deal avoids a trial that would have brought further embarrassment to the monarchy. Besides the undisclosed donation to Virginia Giuffre's charity, it says Andrew acknowledges she has suffered as an abuse victim. He also pledged to support the victims of sex trafficking as part of demonstrating his regret.
The tentative settlement comes weeks after Kaplan last month rejected the prince's attempt to win early dismissal of the lawsuit. After Kaplan ruled, Andrew – who had already stepped back from royal duties – was stripped of his honorary military titles and roles and leadership of various charities, known as royal patronages. He also can no longer use the title "his royal highness" in official settings.
The decision was made after more than 150 veterans and serving members of the armed forces asked the queen to strip her second son of his military titles, saying he had failed to live up to the "very highest standards of probity, honesty and honorable conduct" that are expected of British officers.
