When Virginia Giuffre first accused Prince Andrew of rape, many assumed that the Queen’s youngest son would settle out of court for a large sum of money.
When that didn’t happen, media outlets took a closer look at Andrew’s finances and concluded that he probably didn’t have the funds to bail himself out of this situation.
So while the latest news out of Buckingham Palace is downright nauseating, it’s certainly not surprising:
As many predicted, it seems that Andrew has settled out of court using Queen Elizabeth’s money.
According to a new report from UK newspaper The Telegraph, “the Duke of York will pay his accuser more than £12 million using money from the Queen.”
The payout is the equivalent to $13.5 million USD.
Andrew was reportedly forced to pony up some of the cash on his own, but recent estimates put his net worth at somewhere between $3-5 million, meaning he couldn’t come to close to affording the settlement on his own.
News of the settlement comes just weeks after Andrew was stripped of his military titles and charities.
The move was taken by many as an indication that the Queen was fed up with Andrew, that she had decided to finally withdraw the support she had offered him throughout his scandal-plagued life.
Royal watchers hoped that the Queen had cut Andrew loose and would force him to answer for his alleged crimes in court.
In the end, however, the Queen saved her son from the humiliation of a jury trial with a massive infusion of cash.
Of course, it’s possible that she was less concerned with Andrew’s well-being than with the longterm reputation of the royal family.
Many have pointed out that the settlement comes amid an important celebration for the Queen.
Insiders tell The Daily Mirror that palace officials were keen to ensure that Andrew’s legal troubles would not “overshadow the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.”
Those same sources tell the Mirror that Andrew still “wholly maintains his innocence” and insist that he “believes he can still find a way back into public life.”
If the last part is true, then Andrew is more delusional than we thought, and you can be certain that he’s the only one who thinks he can ever return to public life.
This week’s news is obviously massively disappointing for fans of the Queen, as it seems she’s unconcerned about Andrew’s relationshio with Jeffrey Epstein or the fact that he seems to have played an active role in the world’s most infamous human trafficking ring.
Rather, she decided to help her son avoid any consequences yet again.
Insiders say that even the decision to promote Camilla Parker Bowles to Queen Consort (a title that she’ll assume after Prince Charles takes the throne) may have been motivated by a desire to draw the public’s attention away from Andrew’s legal situation.
The only silver lining to be found in this dark cloud of scandal and graft is the fact that Mrs. Giuffre will finally receive the sizable payout she deserves.
Of course, more good may come of the situation if it leads the citizens of the UK to conclude that the British Royal Family is broken beyond repair and should be done away with as an institution.