Prince Andrew reaches settlement with plaintiff
Prince Andrew has reached an out-of-court settlement with the plaintiff Virginia Giuffre to avoid a trial on charges of abuse. If the court in Manhattan accepts the settlement, the civil case will be dropped and the prince will be left with a clean record. Europe's press comments on what this means for the royal family, Prince Andrew and the British people.
The public has a right to know
The Independent is not happy that Prince Andrew won't have to explain himself in court now:
“The regret must be that the truth about what happened will never be known. ... Given the nature of the case and the personalities involved, the public had a right to know what occurred. It is probably a good deal for Andrew, mainly because he avoids the ultimate horror of dragging himself, his family and the institution he still represents into a New York courtroom. After all, the Duke of York, as we must still call him, can't exactly 'step back'.”
Better to toss in the towel than get knocked out
The settlement is the lesser evil for the prince, De Telegraaf notes:
“Apart from the fact that he had already more or less been declared a prince pariah in his own country, he was probably also facing an even more than embarrassing trial. ... At first Andrew was belligerent and willing to fight the whole thing out before a jury, but perhaps he took his mother into consideration. She'll turn 96 in a month's time, and there are big jubilee celebrations coming up. ... He himself must also have realised that he faces the choice between two evils. Like a boxer who climbs into the ring and knows that he will lose anyway. Is it better to give up now or to get knocked out? It looks like Andrew chose the former. ”
Shadow of suspicion remains
While the royal family can breathe a sigh of relief the same does not go for the prince, Corriere della Sera notes:
“The very thought of a trial with Andrew in the dock coinciding with the Queen's platinum jubilee celebrations sent a shiver down the family's spine. Andrew must have faced enormous pressure from Buckingham Palace - and primarily Charles and William - to find a solution that would spare him the public ridicule. Nonetheless the rehabilitation of the prince seems highly unlikely: he has been stripped of all military and other honorary titles and is no longer allowed to use the title 'His Royal Highness'. He is destined to remain in hiding, marked by the shadow of suspicion.”