Anger in UK over Prince Andrew's '£12 mn' settlement

Factfile on developments in the civil case by Virginia Giuffre against Britain's Prince Andrew.

Virginia Giuffre's lawyer said she and Prince Andrew had 'reached an out-of-court settlement', without revealing the financial terms

Disgraced British royal Prince Andrew was urged Wednesday to disappear forever from public life after settling a sexual assault lawsuit at vast cost, as Queen Elizabeth II suffered further indignity in her Platinum Jubilee year.

The 95-year-old monarch, who is reportedly helping to foot the bill for the cash-strapped Andrew's settlement, also saw her elder son and heir Prince Charles embroiled in fresh controversy over a "cash for honours" scandal.

The office of the Prince of Wales reiterated that he "had no knowledge of the alleged offer" by Michael Fawcett, who for decades was one of Charles's closest confidants.

Details of the deal were not made public, and Andrew's representatives told AFP they would not comment on the contents.

The newspaper said the money would come from one of the private estates belonging to Queen Elizabeth. Commentators demanded transparency on the source, in case the British taxpayer ends up on the hook.

"I just think it's awful that it's all been swept under the carpet, as if it never even happened," Yasmine Ollive, a 34-year-old account manager, said in London.

Giuffre, 38, has said she had sex with Andrew when she was 17 and a minor under US law, after meeting him through US financier Jeffrey Epstein. He took his own life in prison while awaiting trial for sex crimes.

Mark Stephens, a media specialist at law firm Howard Kennedy, told AFP that Andrew had "preserved some measure of dignity for the wider royal family" by agreeing to settle.

The scandal hanging over Andrew has threatened to overshadow the queen's Platinum Jubilee this year, marking her 70 years on the throne. Any jury trial could have coincided with nationwide jubilee celebrations due to take place in the summer.

- 'No way back' -

"Andrew is finished -- undone by his insufferable arrogance, entitlement and staggering naivety," popular tabloid The Sun said in its editorial.

Opposition Labour MP Rachael Maskell demanded that Andrew also lose his Duke of York title to show "respect" for the people of the northern English city, which she represents.

Inside, the paper slammed Andrew for a "vile smear campaign" against Giuffre.

Many pointed to a photograph of the pair together when she was 17. His lawyers had questioned the authenticity of the photo, which also showed socialite and Epstein friend Ghislaine Maxwell.

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