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The Epstein Legacy

The Epstein Legacy: A look into the scandal surrounding Prince Andrew

From beyond the grave, Jeffery Epstein casts a long shadow — one that looms over the British royal family. Prince Andrew reached an out-of-court settlement in the ongoing civil case against him concerning allegations of sexual assaultAn undisclosed figure has been paid to Ms Virginia Giuffre. This effectively brings the contentious case to an end. Prince Andrew previously vowed to settle the matter in open court, yet amongst legal commentators, the settlement comes as no surprise. Now, intimate details of the settlement are shrouded in confidentiality. Subsequently, intimate details of the allegations will avoid scrutiny. The Prince was scheduled to attend a deposition, where he would be questioned under oath by Virginia Giuffre’s lawyers. That deposition along with other court testimonies will no longer happen. This settlement raises a host of questions, not least of which is, why would a man who claims to have never met Virginia Giuffre pay her to settle?

From left to right, Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell

Prince Andrew has always vehemently denied the allegations of sexual assault. Per that denial, there is no admission of guilt by the Prince in the settlement. In a 2019 BBC interview, Prince Andrew stated he had ‘no recollection of ever meeting this lady.’ This assertion is contrasted by the now-infamous picture. It shows the smiling Prince, with his arm casually around the waist of his accuser, who, at the time, was approximately 17 years old. Ghislaine Maxwell can be seen behind the pair. An unnerving smile plastered across her face. In the settlement, the Prince now acknowledges that Ms Giuffre suffered as a victim of abuse.

Prince Andrew has pledged to ‘demonstrate his regret for his association’ with Epstein, by supporting the ‘fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims’. As part of the settlement, the Prince is expected to make a substantial donation to the charity run by Ms Giuffre which supports victims. However, In the 2019 interview, when asked whether he regretted his friendship with Epstein, Prince Andrew responded by saying ‘now, still not…the people that I met and the opportunities I was given to learn…were very useful.’

Legally speaking, this settlement does two things. It allows Virginia Giuffre to be compensated for the very real harm she has suffered. Simultaneously, not admitting guilt allows Prince Andrew to preserve the remnants of his reputation. By publicly compensating his accuser, the Prince seeks to close this chapter with benevolence. Nevertheless, his actions still leave a lingering sense of mystery. Neither party will be completely satisfied by the outcome, but the settlement signals a return to normalcy for both. Prince Andrew will recoil from public life, but he faces continuous association with allegations surrounding the late Epstein.

The timing of this settlement coincides with the Queen’s Platinum jubilee. Queen Elizabeth is the first British Monarch to celebrate seventy years on the throne. Due to the significance of the upcoming celebrations, the Royal family is set to take up increasing press coverage over the coming weeks. Undoubtedly, ongoing sexual assault allegations concerning the Queen’s second son would have marred the occasion. It seems then, a happy coincidence that this contentious matter has been resolved, just in time.

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