[imagesource: PA]
I say, old chap, you’ve really put your foot in it this time, haven’t you?
Turns out, even though it can sometimes take decades, karma hasn’t forgotten about Prince Andrew.
Lawyers commenting on the civil trial he faces in New York, where he stands accused of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre on multiple occasions while she was underage, have already called his planned defence ‘ludicrous’.
In among this all, there’s the pressing question of how exactly he’s going to afford his very, very costly defence team.
Brother Charles, together with nephew William, appear to have convinced mother dearest to cut the Duke of York loose. The Queen may have seemingly endless funds, but she’s gone mum on whether she’ll be chipping in.
A new investigation by Bloomberg shows Andrew has already put immense strain on his coffers:
The disgraced prince is facing seven-figure legal fees — at least — if Virginia Giuffre’s sexual abuse suit goes to trial, according to two lawyers surveyed by Bloomberg, while the cost of settling is expected to be well in excess of $5m [R76m]. With a personal fortune estimated by his private bank at £5m [R103m] in 2017, funding the fight will be a challenge.
“He has no good options in front of him,” Mitchell Epner, a former US federal prosecutor who’s now an attorney at Rottenberg Lipman Rich and not involved in the case, said. “He only has bad options, and he has to decide which is the best bad option.”
It’s estimated that fighting the claims in court will also set him back in the region of $5 million (around R76m), so either way he’s going to be cutting it fine.
Joe Studer, an expert on attorneys’ fees, reckons costs could actually go into eight figures (that’s in excess of $10 million).
Returning to that 2017 wealth estimate from bankers at Luxembourg-based Banque Havilland, it’s important to remember that by then, Prince Andrew was already using loans from his pal and top Tories donor David Rowland to cover his living costs.
Andrew’s only known income is a Royal Navy pension of £20,000 [R412 000] and an annual stipend from his mother, Queen Elizabeth, of £250,000 [R5m].
There’s also that Bentley he registered in late 2020, luxury watches, and the like.
The Queen has yet to state publicly that she won’t cover her son’s legal costs, but again, the Palace PR nightmare that would come with doing so would be very damaging.
Here’s a lovely quote to wrap things up:
And at this point it is far too late for Andrew to indemnify himself against such costs. “You can’t insure a house that’s already on fire,” Epner says.
Kinda like Parliament, right?
Other developments that have come to light this week include Prince Andrew’s lawyers planning to interview Virginia Giuffre’s husband and her therapist.
On the flip side, Giuffre’s team want to speak with the Duke of York’s former assistant, Robert Olney.
[source:bloomberg]
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