Prince Andrew reaches settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually assaulting her as a teen with Jeffrey Epstein

• Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre reached a settlement in her sexual-abuse lawsuit against him.
• She alleged he sexually assaulted her numerous times in Jeffrey Epstein's homes.

Prince Andrew on Tuesday reached a settlement with Virginia Giuffre in her sexual-assault lawsuit against him, court documents showed.

A joint statement attached to the notice of settlement said Andrew would donate an undisclosed sum to Giuffre's nonprofit advocating for victims of trafficking. Andrew did not admit to sexually abusing Giuffre and did not disclose the amount of money he would pay.

The statement read: "Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks. It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years."

The settlement appeared to come before Giuffre's attorney, the famed litigator David Boies, had a chance to depose the royal.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who's overseeing the case, issued a ruling in January denying Andrew's request to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing it to move forward to the discovery process.

Since then, Kaplan has issued letters to judicial authorities in Australia and the United Kingdom asking them to aid in depositions for Giuffre and Andrew. He had set a July 14 deadline to complete the depositions in advance of a trial in fall.

Andrew was one of Epstein's highest-profile friends

Giuffre filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court in August accusing the Duke of York of sexually assaulting her numerous times in the early 2000s.

She said in the lawsuit the abuse started when she was 17 and took place at Epstein's homes in New York and the US Virgin Islands, as well as Ghislaine Maxwell's house in London.

The joint statement on Tuesday said Andrew "regrets" his association with Epstein and "commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others."

"He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims," the statement added.

Andrew had been among the sex offender's most high-profile friends. Accusers in Maxwell's trial in December alleged that she and Epstein often mentioned him, which they said intimidated them and prevented them from contacting authorities about their sexually abusive experiences.

The relationship has been enormously damaging to the duke's reputation. In court documents for earlier lawsuits, Giuffre circulated a photo of her and Andrew in an embrace in Maxwell's London home, with Maxwell in the background.

Last month, after Kaplan allowed the lawsuit to proceed, the British royal family announced that Andrew would be stripped of military titles and defend himself "as a private citizen."

Giuffre had also filed lawsuits against Epstein and Maxwell accusing them of sexual misconduct, both of which were settled. She also accused Alan Dershowitz, another friend of Epstein's, of sexually assaulting her. That case is pending.

The duke said he ultimately cut ties with Epstein and had gone to great lengths to deny Giuffre's allegations. He said he had no memory of them meeting and that the photo of them together with Maxwell may have been photoshopped.

In a 2019 BBC News interview, he rejected the claim that he and Giuffre danced in London's Tramp nightclub, where Giuffre said Andrew was "sweating all over me." The prince said that he remembered bringing his daughter Princess Beatrice to a pizza party at the time and that a medical condition stemming from a traumatic experience during the Falklands War made him physically incapable of sweating — despite many photos showing Andrew sweating in nightclubs.

The extensive denials allowed for what could have been a wide discovery process. In court documents, Giuffre's lawyers had asked for Andrew's medical records regarding his ability to sweat. Boies, Giuffre's attorney, also said he wanted to depose Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, as well as the duke's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.

Andrew had previously requested a jury trial, indicating last month that he wasn't going to settle. Boies said it was important to Giuffre "that this matter be resolved in a way that vindicates her and vindicates other victims."