Disgraced Prince Andrew is "Considering Legal Bid" To Overturn His Multi-Million Pound Settlement in Sex Abuse Case, Sources Claim
He reportedly believes that retracting her claims could get him back into his role as a working Royal.
Over the past few years, Prince Andrew went from a respected member of the Royal Family to the most disgraced. The Queen's third-born child and second-born son's scandalous relationship with accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was made even worse when Virginia Giuffre made sexual assault allegations against him, claiming that he had sexual relations with her when she was a minor.
Instead of allowing the case to go to court, the Prince settled with Giuffre for an undisclosed amount. However, according to recent reports, he is now considering taking her to court in hopes of overturning the multimillion-dollar settlement.
Per the Sun on Sunday and Mail on Sunday, Prince Andrew has already consulted with lawyers to investigate if he could possibly get Giuffre, who he claims he never even met, to retract her allegations.
This comes after Giuffre, now known by her married name, Virginia Roberts, dropped a lawsuit against high-profile attorney Alan Dershowitz, admitting she "may have made a mistake" in identifying him.
According to sources, Andrew believes he was "bounced" into agreeing to a deal and that he never wanted to make it, feeling pressured by his mother, the late Queen, and his family. Sources told The Sun that he believes that if he fights the settlement, he could return to some royal duties and "normality."
In a new interview with TalkTV, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offenses in connection with Jeffrey Epstein, disputes the validity of the smoking gun of Giuffre's case. A photo of herself taken in 2001, when she was only 17, with Prince Andrew's arm around her. "I don't believe it's real for a second, in fact I'm sure it's not," she said.
"Well, there's never been an original and further there's no photograph, and I've only ever seen a photocopy of it," she added. Giuffre previously told BBC Panorama that the photograph was authentic, maintaining she gave the original to the FBI in 2011. Andrew has also questioned the validity of the image, pointing out he is "not one to hug" or "display affection" in public.