Prince Andrew was hit with a devastating blow on Wednesday when a judge refused to throw out the case of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the alleged former sex slave of the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew Hit With Crushing Blow 

This means that Giuffre’s case regarding her claims that she was repeatedly forced to have sex with Andrew as an underage girl will go to trial in nine months. Andrew will now have to decide between fighting a hugely expensive court case, or paying off Giuffre with at least $5 million. 

Daily Mail reported that lawyers representing Andrew unsuccessfully argued that Giuffre’s case should be tossed out because of a newly unsealed $500,000 settlement with Epstein. They said that the Royal was protected due to a clause in which she agreed not to take legal action against “potential defendants.” 

Judge Lewis Kaplan, however, was not having any of it, as he ruled that the case will go to trial between September and December 2022. 

Related: Prince Andrew Gets Bad News From Judge After Trying To Dodge Epstein Victim’s Lawsuit

Judge Kaplan Sounds Off

“For the foregoing reasons, defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint or for a more definite statement is denied in all respects,” the judge ruled. “Given the court’s limited task of ruling on this motion, nothing in this opinion or previously in these proceedings properly may be construed as indicating a view with respect to the truth of the charges or countercharges or as to the intention of the parties in entering into the 2009 Agreement.”

“The 2009 Agreement cannot be said to demonstrate, clearly and unambiguously, the parties intended the instrument ‘directly,’ ‘primarily,’ or ‘substantially,’ to benefit Prince Andrew,” he continued.

“The law prohibits the Court from considering at this stage of the proceedings defendant’s efforts to cast doubt on the truth of Ms Giuffre’s allegations, even though his efforts would be permissible at trial,” the judge said. “In a similar vein and for similar reasons, it is not open to the Court now to decide, as a matter of fact, just what the parties to the release in the 2009 settlement agreement signed by Ms Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein actually meant.” 

Find out more about this ruling in the video below. 

Related: Book Reveals New Details Of Prince Andrew’s Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein

Timing Is Awful For Queen Elizabeth 

It is likely that Andrew will be subpoenaed to appear in person if this trial move forwards, and while he could refuse to attend, this would not look good to a jury.

Andrew’s team is said to understand the “attritional impact” this is having on the Royal Family, particularly on 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth, who has been suffering from health issues.

The Platinum Jubilee will be held later this year. This celebration is meant to mark her record-breaking 70 years on the British throne, which means the timing of her son Andrew’s scandal could not be any worse for her.

It will certainly be interesting to see if Andrew decides to settle or risk a trial that could damage his reputation even further. Either way, the damage this entire situation is doing to the Royal Family will be hard to ignore in the months to come. 

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