Virginia Guiffre and Andrew settle out of court

[Suzanne999]

From Metro
Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre have reached a ‘settlement in principle’ in the civil sex claim filed in the US, court documents show

Does this show his guilt? Water down in some way his actions? I’m sure some will say this proves she was only in it for the money. I think she and a lot of underage girls were abused but because of the wealth involved those guilty will never face justice. Can’t understand why I feel sad about this outcome.

Also, if they're wealthy enough to fund multi million settlements with their own cash, shouldn't we pull back on how much state money they're getting

Absolutely

But the Sovereign Grant can only ever go up. Not down.
A law was made
Funny that....

@Sloth66

The whole hereditary principle is absurd in this day and age. Charles is unpopular, yet imagine if this individual had been the first born? Unelected, unaccountable, not there on any merit. Depressing to see this still exists in 2022

I couldn't agree more. It's fucking ridiculous. Turns any notions of equality in society into a stupid charade. Our whole system's built on unquestioning subservience to those somehow born 'better' than us. Fuck that. Enough

I mean who would do that?

I'm not sure what your point is. Yes there are shit parents out there, do you deny that?

There has clearly been brinksmanship by both sides ahead of the date of the putative deposition taking.

It’s deal-making with both sides upping the ante in public whilst their teams get on with agreeing the actual settlement. This was always going to be the outcome.

As I said yesterday, VG has shown the world who Prince Andrew is.

Yep. It is ridiculous. For me Andrew is the final nail in the coffin for the RF going forward.
This is obviously some sort of deal agreed by Charles and William... let Camilla be Queen and I'll okay all this dosh being paid out.
All I'll say is... Charles is gonna have a helluva uphill struggle to rehabilitate the RF. For me anyway.

Please do your research they are wealthy in their own right

And where does that wealth come from? They started screwing over the masses in the 13th century and haven't stopped since.

@TheKeatingFive

I mean who would do that?

I'm not sure what your point is. Yes there are shit parents out there, do you deny that?

???

Apologies I misunderstood your point

I note the Sandyhook families just settled for $ - was it "all about the money" for them too? Bloody hell, the views on trafficked women are depressing here.

It is ridiculous. For me Andrew is the final nail in the coffin for the RF going forward.

Me too. The whole bunch are obsolete and their very presence is a toxic influence on how we see wealth and class in this country so that perceived poshness still gives you a massive leg-up in a number of jobs - most damagingly, politics.

Lots of publications say the same. Just google.

Yes, because they can't verify a source either. Basically someone has started a rumour intended to cause further froth and damage and the tabloids (and their readers) are lapping it up.

But Andrew has been running out of money. hence the sale of the ski chalet. So no he can't fund the settlement himself.

When did you become his accountant? That must be a really interesting job.

Releasing capital to aid cash flow is standard practice. Selling the property doesn't mean he can't afford it so the queen must be paying.

What happens to the other very high profile people linked to Epstein ?

But remember the lawyers would have done the same to her, did she at any point say "no" or "I don't want this", what made her recruit other girls into it?

The thing that struck me about this case is the similarities between Epstein's grooming and that of the Rochdale grooming gang. Taking vulnerable teenage girls with little to no parental support, some of whom had been previously abused, showering them with gifts and attention, then trafficking them out, and using them to recruit other girls. The predators' budgets might be different, but the techniques are the same.

@BringMeTea

A pretty good result for VG which pleases me. She is now wealthy and powerful. The sleazy scumbag Andrew is reputationally ruined and further light is shone on this set of wealthy perverts and abusers.. Also pleasing. And she hasn't had to take the stand. Hooray!

ButterMe

I've been increasingly cynical about the whole lot of them for many years, but this has done it. How he's been given free rein for decades to schmooze arms dealers, dodgy despots, take backhanders, backhanders, treat people like shit .... well, the chickens have come home to roost now.
He's done incalculable damage to the RF and was enabled for a very long time.
No one stepped forward and I include the establishment, politicans, prime ministers in that. Anyone who spoke up about his behaviour were sharply slapped down.

Can I suggest the book... "And what do you do?" written by Norman Baker.
An eye opener. Written by someone who knows... a Former Member of State and ex Member of the Privy Council.

For anyone in doubt, read it.

I note the Sandyhook families just settled for $ - was it "all about the money" for them too? Bloody hell, the views on trafficked women are depressing here.

I was a civil case, the only outcome would be compensation.

The murderer in the Sandyhook case committed suicide did he not, bit hard to sentence him after that. Not sure who the parents claimed for what.

and shows that being rich and royal does not make anyone above the law.

It's a civil suit. He did nothing unlawful. It was settled, so it hasn't even been ruled by a court that he did anything at all.

I wonder whether something else has emerged evidence-wise to precipitate this?

Nothing will have emerged. A calculation will have been done, what's the cheapest quickest way to make this go away. The vast majority of civil cases end this way, even when there is barely any evidence at all.

and he avoids the prison time if he’d lost

There is no prison time. It was a civil case. Not sure how many times that needs to be said before people get it.

Rousette, yeah, me too. I really love history and have an interest in royal history so, in theory, should be a royal fan because they are a continuation of it. But I'm not. The whole house of cards needs to tumble now. It belongs to a bygone age and, in my opinion, causes us more harm in holding us back in the dark ages, than it helps. The UK desperately needs to become a modern country, freed from the bloat of tradition, the over-reach of rich men and the pervasive influence that their corruption is having.

I have heard of that book and will admit to be too cowardly to read it. So much about the abuse of politics and power angers me, I'm not sure I need any more amunititon.

Can’t water down criminal actions if they happened.

None of this is about criminality. Nothing in the case is accusing him of criminality.

I do wonder how people can be commenting on things when they have such a basic misunderstanding of the actual facts.

The murderer in the Sandyhook case committed suicide did he not, bit hard to sentence him after that. Not sure who the parents claimed for what.

They settled with Remington, the gun maker. Also a civil case. My point (in case not clear) is not that they were really after money - they have clearly had their lives ruined and would prefer it never to have happened. The money is the only crude mechanism they have to make Remington pay. I think VG deserves the same understanding.

A calculation will have been done, what's the cheapest quickest way to make this go away.

You're not wrong, but it's quite something when this is the 'cheap' option.

The UK desperately needs to become a modern country, freed from the bloat of tradition, the over-reach of rich men and the pervasive influence that their corruption is having

So Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway aren’t modern countries? They seem to manage having a monarchy pretty well. Let’s modernise it.

Every country in the world is in thrall to the wealthy. We’re in far more danger from the influx of Russian money than the monarchy. A republic would just mean having another wealthy person as a figurehead, I fail to see how that would be an improvement. Better the devil you know.

@BoredZelda

Can’t water down criminal actions if they happened.

None of this is about criminality. Nothing in the case is accusing him of criminality.

I do wonder how people can be commenting on things when they have such a basic misunderstanding of the actual facts.

If it had gone to trial, Andrew would have had to testify. It is certainly possible there would have been revelations that could have led to criminal charges. But if you understand how this works, you would know that. You would also know that Andrew is far too protected to ever face criminal charges for what he did.

When vulnerable young girls and women are traded like commodities it harms all our daughters. Seems some people don't care just because it's someone else's daughter. Easy to project that they were somehow complicit - the 'Lolita' complex that raises it's fucking ugly head - see also Rochdale grooming gangs and the attitudes of police and authorities to those girls.
And some of the comments hinting that VG was an unworthy victim are making my blood boil.
She has been incredibly brave, taking on the world's media, the royal family and the huge team of lawyers, having her life picked apart and her name dragged through the mud. Grotesque misogyny.

and now VG is silenced until later in the year so the Queen can have her jubilee celebrations.

This country makes me sick.

No wonder the French had a revolution and the guillotine.