London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Prince Andrew: Charities' concerns over prince's offer to support victims

Prince Andrew: Charities' concerns over prince's offer to support victims

Charities working with survivors of abuse say they have "significant concerns" about the Duke of York's offer to support trafficking victims.

Prince Andrew made the pledge after settling the US civil sexual assault case brought by Virginia Giuffre, and agreeing to pay her an undisclosed sum.

He made no admission of liability and has always denied the allegations.

Labour MP Jess Phillips has expressed doubt Andrew could play a constructive role in combating trafficking.

"Those who work in sexual violence [and] human trafficking services are certainly not going to have open arms to his allyship... even if it was just finances," she said.

Ms Giuffre had been suing Andrew in a civil action, claiming he sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17 - which the prince has repeatedly denied.

On Tuesday it was announced they had reached an out-of-court settlement.

A statement from their lawyers said the duke would pay an undisclosed sum to Ms Giuffre and make a "substantial donation" to her charity in support of victims' rights.

It also said the duke regretted his association with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew had previously told BBC Newsnight in 2019 he did not regret being friends with Epstein.

No details of the payout to Ms Giuffre have been made public - and there are calls for more detail about where the money will come from.

The exact amount of the financial settlement has not been revealed but reports have speculated that it could run into millions of pounds. The duke receives a Royal Navy pension and a stipend from the Queen's Duchy of Lancaster income.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Andrew also pledged to "demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims".

Gabrielle Shaw, chief executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac), said: "Napac acknowledges and is grateful to the many generous fundraisers and donors who are survivors or supporters of survivors themselves," she added.

"With this trust being core to Napac's approach, any support for the charity that Prince Andrew may offer would raise significant concerns as to the ethical implications of accepting money or patronage from an individual who is a suspected perpetrator and who had ties to a convicted offender."

Beyond the Streets, a charity working to end sexual exploitation, said it was unlikely it would accept any support offered by Andrew.

"We think the priority of organisations who support women who have been exploited should be on their beneficiaries and not on the profile and activities of those who support them," a spokesperson said.

"This is particularly important in situations such as this where it could be perceived that there is a benefit to the potential supporter and there have been serious accusations involved."

Jayne Butler, chief executive of Rape Crisis England and Wales said while it had not been offered any support, financial or otherwise by Andrew or Ms Giuffre, it would not do so "without consulting with our Rape Crisis member centres and with survivors".

Ms Phillips, shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour: "It's going to take a huge amount of effort and I think it will be incredibly hard for Prince Andrew to make that effort."

Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts - now Virginia Giuffre - and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2001


Ms Giuffre, now 38, claims she was the victim of sex trafficking and abuse by financier Epstein from the age of 16. Epstein died while awaiting trial in 2019.

She claimed the duke sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions in London, New York, and on Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands.

In a 2019 interview with BBC Newsnight, Prince Andrew said he didn't recall meeting Ms Giuffre and that an incident in which she alleges they had sex at the Belgravia home of Ghislaine Maxwell "didn't happen".

In January, a New York court ruled that the civil action against him could go ahead.

Shortly afterwards, Buckingham Palace said the prince's military titles and royal patronages had been returned to the Queen and that he would defend Ms Giuffre's civil case as a "private citizen".

Is there any way back for Prince Andrew?

If Prince Andrew had gone to court in the US to fight it out with Virginia Giuffre, it would have made headlines as tall as a New York skyscraper.

That royal disaster zone has been averted by an out-of-court settlement.

But it comes with high costs to Prince Andrew, both financial and reputational, and it will be a long road back before there is any chance of clearing his name in terms of public opinion.


Watch: What did Prince Andrew say about Virginia Giuffre's allegations in the 2019 Newsnight interview?


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×