While I hope that Virginia Giuffre refuses any and all settlement offers from Prince Andrew, I will not hold it against her if she chooses to take the money and walk away from these terrible people. Genuinely, I hope we’re not holding Giuffre to an impossible standard, that she has to “take down” Andrew and the British monarchy. She’s a victim, she’s spent years trying to get justice for herself and others, and she’s doing great. I was thinking about this as I read several pieces about how there’s a lot of pressure being exerted on Prince Andrew to settle: at some point, perhaps Andrew’s lawyers will come up with a sum and a carefully-worded apology which might be to Giuffre’s liking. If and when that happens, Giuffre should still be proud of what she accomplished and what she was fighting for.

Meanwhile, it sounds like the Queen and her courtiers are extremely annoyed that Prince Andrew plans to “fight” Giuffre in court. It also sounds like Andrew insisted to his mum and others that this case would never go to trial.

The Queen is determined not to allow Prince Andrew’s sex trial to overshadow her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, sources claim. Officials are reportedly continuing with Jubilee plans in June, as the Queen and the rest of the royal family “will do all they can” to not let Andrew’s legal woes ruin Her Majesty’s big year – marking 70 years since her accession to the throne.

Palace sources are said to have been left surprised at the Duke’s change of direction and “shift in mood” after he consistently told his family there was little to no chance of him facing a civil trial in the United States. Since Prince Andrew opted for a jury trial, insiders have reportedly tonight questioned the “counter attack” tactics, which senior royals are understood to fear could expose Andrew while causing irreparable damage to the monarchy and overshadow the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

In his legal filing, the Duke went on to claim he was not a “close friend” Maxwell, who is facing 65 years behind bars, despite knowing her for 40 years and inviting her to Buckingham Palace and the Queen’s Balmoral estate with her lover Epstein. One royal source said: “It’s the ultimate gamble. He is putting himself at the mercy of a jury and attempting to distance himself from people like Ghislaine Maxwell, when he is on record discussing their friendship and has known her for decades. This is certainly a huge shift in mood from previous suggestions that everything was ‘in hand’ and questions will certainly be asked about the wisdom of a bullish counter-attack defence so late in the day.”

Palace insiders plough on with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, one leading lawyer said the frenzied international interest in the civil trial could lead to questions about the “relevancy” of the royal family. Media lawyer Mark Stephens said Andrew will face detailed questions of a sexual nature when he gives evidence, whether in person or via video link, in the jury trial in the autumn.

He said: “I can’t conceive that the royal family will allow him to run this case and overshadow the Platinum Jubilee. It’s going to spark debate about the relevancy and appropriateness of the royal family and we’ve already seen that they moved very fast to strip him of his titles and that debate abated but the more detail that comes out the more there’s going to be a problem for the wider royal family.”

[From The Daily Mirror]

Yeah, is this the PR track Buckingham Palace wants to be on at the moment? “The Queen is focusing solely on her fancy jubilee party and not the fact that her favorite son is being sued in American civil court for raping a 17-year-old.” Like… maybe stop talking about the fakakta jubilee in the same breath as Andrew? Look at me, giving notes to the royal sources. But seriously, this is just kind of basic stuff. Incidentally, the Queen and her aides have never expressed one iota of sympathy for Virginia Giuffre or Jeffrey Epstein’s victims in any of their statements. It’s never “This poor woman has been through so much and while the Queen has sympathy for Ms. Giuffre, Liz feels… etc”

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