Prince Andrew sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre will be freed from gagging ... trends now
Prince Andrew's sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre could return to the public eye next month as her gagging clause is lifted.
Ms Giuffre, who now lives in Australia, had alleged that she was forced to have sex with the Duke three times when she was 17 under the orders of the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
She launched her legal action against Andrew in August 2021, seeking unspecified damages for battery, including rape, and the infliction of emotional distress.
It was settled outside of court on February 15, 2022, for a reported $12 million, with $2 million thought to have been donated to her sex trafficking charity. The Duke did not admit wrongdoing and has consistently and vehemently denied the claims.
Last year the Duke of York and Ms Giuffre signed a one-year agreement that meant neither party could discuss the case or financial settlement made
Ms Giuffre, who now lives in Australia, could return to the public eye next month as her gagging clause is lifted
As part of the settlement last year the Duke of York and Ms Giuffre signed a one-year agreement that meant neither party could discuss the case or financial settlement made, The Telegraph reported.
With this clause lifting within weeks, Ms Giuffre, who is married with children, will likely to free to talk about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's abuse.
This could writing a book, or conducting printed or televised interviews with the media or writing a book.
The Duke settled the case with Ms Giuffre ahead of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee last year, after having been stripped of all military titles and patronages and ordered by Buckingham Palace not to use his HRH title in January. The Palace also ruled out a return to public duties.
The late Queen contributed to the reported $12 million settlement sum, with the gagging clause deemed critical in the agreement made.
At the time, some Palace aides criticised the length of silence agreed, with one friend to the Duke saying: 'If you’re going to go for legal resolution at those sorts of prices then you want silence - but what we’ve got is silence for the Platinum Jubilee,' The Telegraph reported.
The specific terms of the gagging clause have not been released. It will be lifted later next month.
It is thought that Ms Giuffre may be free to publicly address how she was sex trafficked by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
She could have agreed to not repeat her allegations about Prince Andrew, or discuss him in relation to the criminal couple.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the clause being lifted soon.
It comes as King Charles threw Andrew out of the royal fold and told him he's 'on his own' in the wake of the scandal surrounding his
