The Queen’s contribution to the settlement will come from her private Duchy of Lancaster estate, which recently increased by £1.5 million to more than £23 million.
The source of the Duke’s personal wealth has long remained a mystery, ill explained by his modest Navy pension and annual £250,000 stipend from the Queen. He is currently selling his only known asset, the Verbier ski chalet he bought with his ex-wife in 2014 as a “family investment” with a mortgage and private funding from the monarch.
The couple put the property on the market when they were sued by the previous owner Isabelle de Rouvre, a French socialite who alleged that they owed her £6.7 million from the £16.6 million sale.
David Boies, Ms Giuffre’s high-profile New York-based lawyer who represents her pro bono, insisted last month that the civil case was not about the money.
He told The Telegraph his client wanted to “vindicate herself and the other victims” and to send a message that no one could “escape responsibility just because of their wealth and power”. Ms Guiffre had insisted that she wanted her day in court, and that she was not after “another payday” at the Duke’s expense.
However, Mr Boies added: “That said, if you had a settlement that was large enough to be, in effect, a vindication, then it’s something we would obviously look at.”
Ms Giuffre created the Victims Refuse Silence foundation in 2015 but the charity relaunched last year under the name Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (Soar).
Based in Fort Lauderdale in the US, Soar says it “empowers survivors to reclaim their stories and bring an end to sex trafficking”. On its website, the charity states it was officially launched in November 2021 and at this early stage is not yet accepting donations.
Lisa Bloom, who represents eight victims of Epstein said: “We hail Virginia’s victory today. She has accomplished what no one else could: getting Prince Andrew to stop his nonsense and side with sexual abuse victims. We salute Virginia’s stunning courage.”
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