Prince Andrew

I have reported on the royals for years. Prince Andrew's settlement will be the straw that broke the camel's back, writes Omid Scobie.

With the Sussexes long gone and Andrew permanently benched, there are fewer working royals than ever, yet the sovereign grant that funds the royal family continues to grow year-on-year. It also raises the question that if there’s so much disposable private wealth hidden behind palace walls, why should people of this country – many of whom are struggling to heat their homes this winter – continue to dish out an annual contribution to the royal establishment? While we are unlikely to hear Giuffre speak about the civil case for the foreseeable future, flicking away her claims with his gilded chequebook won’t change the very real fact that the royal enjoyed and invested in close friendships with two sex traffickers who destroyed the innocent lives of Giuffre and countless other children and women. If Andrew really cared about rape survivors, like his statement claims, there also wouldn’t still be a material witness warrant for him in the US more than two years since he promised to speak to the FBI about Epstein. So it came as somewhat of a surprise to see just 109 days later the Queen’s son, tail between his legs, stating that he had “never intended to malign Ms Giuffre’s character” and that he accepts she has suffered as a victim of abuse. Over 90 per cent of civil cases filed in US federal court result in a settlement, so it was almost inevitable that Giuffre’s lawsuit would boil down to a pre-trial payout.

Prince Andrew has faced calls to hand back or lose his dukedom of York title · Queen's son settled sex abuse case with Virginia Roberts in New York this week ...

Andrew was forced to return his military titles and royal patronages to the Queen last month and was left to battle Miss Roberts' allegations as a 'private citizen'. In the wake of his multi-million-pound payout to American accuser Virginia Roberts, the prince faced demands to hand back or to lose the dukedom of York, his Naval service rank of Vice-Admiral and a royal role as counsellor of state. Prince Andrew will be permitted to keep his remaining titles despite calls for him to be stripped of them following his sex abuse settlement.