![Anger in UK over Prince Andrew's '£12 mn' settlement](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/g0/c6/4c/Anger-in-UK-over-Prince-Andrew-s----510044.jpg)
-
'Windmill love' sees Dutch artist become mill operator
-
US defends law forcing sale of TikTok app
-
Messi out for defending champ Miami as Leagues Cup begins
-
Australia bans uranium mining at Indigenous site
-
Divers attempt to reach sunken Philippine oil tanker
-
Trump accuses Harris of anti-Semitism in overblown speech
-
Coughlin clings to lead at LPGA Canadian Women's Open
-
Trump offers tech sector policy flips ahead of election
-
Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
-
What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
-
Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
-
Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
-
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
-
Spain train driver jailed for 2.5 years over deadly 2013 crash
-
Paris poised for Olympic opening ceremony spectacular
-
Judoka fails doping test in first case at Paris Olympics
-
Holder and Da Silva keep England at bay after West Indies collapse
-
Alpine F1 boss Bruno Famin to leave in August
-
Ethiopia declares three days of mourning after landslide tragedy
-
Brazilian dunes dotted with dazzling pools make UNESCO heritage list
-
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
-
French Rugby's Jaminet suspended 34 weeks after racist video: Federation
![Anger in UK over Prince Andrew's '£12 mn' settlement](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/g0/c6/4c/Anger-in-UK-over-Prince-Andrew-s----510044.jpg)
Anger in UK over Prince Andrew's '£12 mn' settlement
Disgraced British royal Prince Andrew was urged Wednesday to "live out his retirement in ignominy" after reportedly settling a sexual assault lawsuit for a whopping £12 million ($16.3 million, 14.3 million euros).
The lawyer for US accuser Virginia Giuffre said on Tuesday that both parties had settled out of court, sparing Andrew the public humiliation of a trial. The details were not revealed.
Giuffre, 38, has said she had sex with Andrew when she was 17 and a minor under US law, after meeting him through US financier Jeffrey Epstein. He took his own life in prison while awaiting trial for sex crimes.
The prince, 61, has not been criminally charged and has denied the allegations.
Mark Stephens, a media specialist at law firm Howard Kennedy, told AFP that Andrew had "preserved some measure of dignity for the wider royal family" by agreeing to settle.
But, Stephens added, "he's not going to see the light of day in public service ever again".
The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that Andrew was to pay £10 million to Giuffre and £2 million to a charity for victims of sex trafficking.
His team told AFP they would not comment on the contents of the deal.
The deal raised questions of who is footing the bill for the perennially cash-strapped prince, who is said to be selling a Swiss ski chalet at a knockdown price to help meet his US legal bills.
The Telegraph said the settlement money would come from one of the private estates belonging to his mother Queen Elizabeth II. Commentators demanded transparency on the source, in case the British taxpayer ends up on the hook.
- 'Swept under the carpet' -
"I just think it's awful that it's all been swept under the carpet, as if it never even happened," Yasmine Ollive, a 34-year-old account manager, said in London.
After other controversies over Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, she said that if the royals "keep on carrying on with the things that they're doing, then it could be the end of them".
Separately on Wednesday, police in London confirmed they were investigating allegations that an aide to Prince Charles, the queen's heir, had offered UK honours to a Saudi businessman in return for donations to the prince's charitable foundation.
The scandal hanging over Andrew has threatened to overshadow the queen's Platinum Jubilee this year, marking her 70 years on the throne. Any jury trial could have coincided with nationwide jubilee celebrations due to take place in the summer.
But Andrew will now no longer be questioned under oath by Giuffre's lawyers, who had been due to travel to London next month.
The court filing said Andrew "regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others".
"He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims," it added.
- 'No way back' -
But British media called on Andrew to withdraw entirely from public life, after he was already stripped of his honorary military ranks and the title of "His Royal Highness".
"Andrew is finished -- undone by his insufferable arrogance, entitlement and staggering naivety," popular tabloid The Sun said in its editorial.
"He must retreat entirely from public life and live out his retirement in ignominy," it added.
Opposition Labour MP Rachael Maskell demanded that Andrew also lose his Duke of York title to show "respect" for the people of the northern English city, which she represents.
The staunchly royalist Daily Mail said in its front-page headline that there was "no way back" for Andrew, who withdrew from royal duties in 2019 after a widely ridiculed BBC interview.
Inside, the paper slammed Andrew for a "vile smear campaign" against Giuffre.
British commentators also mocked Andrew for claiming he had never met Giuffre, querying why he had agreed in that case to settle for such an apparently large amount, and pointing to a photograph of the pair together when she was 17.
His lawyers had questioned the authenticity of the photo, which also showed socialite and Epstein friend Ghislaine Maxwell.
In December, Maxwell was convicted of recruiting and grooming young girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.
F.Cardoso--PC