According to foreign media reports, on January 12, local time, a US judge rejected the request of Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom to reject the sexual assault lawsuit against him, which means that Prince Andrew may face trial this year.
A number of British media pointed out that the British royal family is not happy to see this result. And to avoid "such a sensational trial" in the future, Prince Andrew may choose to pay millions of pounds to reach an out-of-court settlement. However, even if a settlement is reached, it could cause huge damage to the reputation of the British Royal Family.
Screenshot of the Guardian report
CnN, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), The Guardian and other foreign media reported on the 12th that New York federal judge Lewis A Kaplan refused to reject a civil case on the 12th, which accused Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting virginia giuffre when she was 17 years old.
In his ruling, Judge Kaplan said The lawsuit filed by Kiefer against Prince Andrew in August 2021 was neither "obscure" nor "vague" or "ambiguous.". The allegations state that sexual assault occurred in specific circumstances in three identifiable locations and identifies subjects who have been sexually abused. As a result, the judge ruled to reject Prince Andrew's request to dismiss the case in its entirety.
In the lawsuit, Gieffer reportedly claimed that the late American billionaire Epstein had forced her to have sex with a number of men, including British royal family member Prince Andrew, who knew she was only 17 years old (2001) and was a minor.
She alleges that Prince Andrew sexually assaulted Epstein on three locations: her private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, her mansion in Manhattan, and her ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, in London.
Prince Andrew has consistently denied the allegations and moved to dismiss The Lawsuit against Him by Kiefer, but Judge Kaplan's ruling this time rejected his motion to dismiss the complaint "in all respects", allowing the proceedings to proceed. This means that Prince Andrew must swear an oath to answer questions about the case by July 14 this year. If the case is not resolved, Prince Andrew will face trial between September and December this year.
Prince Andrew with Giver, and Maxwell, in 2001, from the BBC
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the verdict, saying "we will not comment on ongoing legal matters". The Guardian and the BBC have pointed out that the British Royal Family is actually not happy to see such a situation.
"This news is a very unwelcome development for the royal family, and it was only 3 days ago that the full details of the Queen's Platinum Anniversary Celebration were revealed in June," the Guardian said. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne, the UK will be closed on 2 and 3 June, linked to the weekends of the 4th and 5th, and will hold a series of Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Prince Andrew continues to be embroiled in sexual assault allegations that will cast a shadow over the Queen's Platinum Anniversary.
For Prince Andrew, the ruling was another blow to the troubled man. Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is 62 years old. In November 2019, when he was embroiled in a sex scandal related to Epstein, he resigned from the royal family and received approval from the Queen. The British "Independent" once commented that this is "the biggest scandal in the British royal family after the death of Princess Diana".
Nowadays, there are not many good options in front of Prince Andrew. According to the BBC, given his constant strong denial of any wrongdoing, Prince Andrew could go to court this fall to publicly clarify the allegations against himself, "but it's hard to imagine the royal family would want to see a heated cross-examination in a New York courtroom". With that in mind, Prince Andrew may choose to reach an out-of-court settlement with Giver, "but that's not the best either, and it would leave these allegations pending".
The Guardian also said that in order to avoid "such a sensational trial", one option for Prince Andrew was an out-of-court settlement, which could cost him millions of pounds. And, even if a settlement were reached, such an agreement could cause huge damage to the reputation of the British royal family.
According to The Guardian and The Sun, Prince Andrew is selling his £18 million Swiss ski lodge. Speculation has come to his senses that he needs the money to pay for the legal bills. The Sun broke the news that it was Prince Andrew preparing for the out-of-court settlement.
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