Prince Andrew settled the civil case against him brought by Virginia Giuffre out of court this week – and the internet has not stopped mocking him.
The Duke of York was accused of sexual assault by Giuffre, who alleges the royal had sex with her three times between 2000 and 2002 when she was a teenager and being trafficked by convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
He has vehemently denied all allegations against him, and told BBC Newsnight in 2019 that he had never met Giuffre. He also claimed that he was Pizza Express in Woking on one of the dates Giuffre alleged they had met.
Only last month, Andrew announced that he wanted a jury trial to address her allegations. In an abrupt U-turn, the royal has now confirmed he will be paying an undisclosed amount to Giuffre’s charity for victims of sexual abuse in a settlement.
In a joint statement, the royal commended Giuffre’s bravery and acknowledged she is a victim of abuse – but stopped short of actually apologising or admitting any liability.
The sudden change of heart did not go unnoticed on the internet, especially amid reports that Giuffre may receive up to £12million in the settlement, a tidy sum which the Queen is said to have contributed towards.
All in all, not many people are impressed with the Royal Family right now. Here’s a roundup of the best responses to Andrew’s decision to settle after months of back and forth with Giuffre’s legal team: