Prince Andrew

Ms Giuffre had been suing the Duke of York, claiming he sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17, allegations he has repeatedly denied.

A letter filed to the US district court on Tuesday said the duke and Ms Giuffre had reached an out-of-court settlement.

It said the duke would pay an undisclosed sum to Ms Giuffre.

His representatives said he had no comment beyond what was said in the document filed to the court. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the settlement.

Virginia Giuffre, 38, alleges that he sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager at the homes of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

The Duke of York has consistently denied all the allegations against him.

In the court documents, his legal team submitted several reasons why they believe the case should be dismissed.

The 11-page document filed on Wednesday states that Prince Andrew "admits that he met Epstein in or around 1999," but denies that he participated in any abuse with the late financier.

“I don’t know what the richter scale goes up to but this is a big earthquake,” one source told the Guardian. “This feels to me like a straightforward ejection or excommunication. This is the most serious step they could have taken.”

Prince Andrew, 61, will also stop using the style His Royal Highness in an official capacity, a royal source said.

It comes as he faces a US civil action over sexual assault allegations - claims he has consistently denied.

A source close to the duke said he would "continue to defend himself" against the case brought in New York by Virginia Giuffre.

But the source insisted a judge's ruling on Wednesday that the civil action could proceed was "not a judgement on the merits of Ms Giuffre's allegations".

Virginia Giuffre is suing the prince, claiming he abused her in 2001.

His lawyers said the case should be thrown out, citing a 2009 deal she signed with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But a New York judge ruled that the claim could be heard.

He has consistently denied the claims. Buckingham Palace said it would not comment on an ongoing legal matter.

The motion to dismiss the lawsuit was outlined in a 46-page decision by Judge Lewis A Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The document, disclosed by a New York court, reveals the financier paid her $500,000 (£371,000) to end her claim.

Ms Giuffre is suing the Duke of York in a civil case for allegedly sexually assaulting her 20 years ago, when she was a teenager.

He has consistently denied the claims.

The document was released ahead of a critical hearing on Tuesday in the civil case involving Prince Andrew - and the interpretation of the settlement will form a central plank of the argument between the two sides.

Virginia Giuffre, who was an accuser of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, claims she was sexually assaulted by Prince Andrew in London and New York.

Prince Andrew has consistently denied Ms Giuffre's claims.

Ms Giuffre's lawsuit cites New York's Child Victims Act, which expanded victims' rights to sue alleged abusers.

Speaking about Ms Giuffre's allegations in 2019, Prince Andrew said they "never happened".

Prince Andrew, 59, said he had asked the Queen for permission to withdraw for the "foreseeable future".

He said he deeply sympathised with sex offender Epstein's victims and everyone who "wants some form of closure".

The duke has faced a growing backlash following a BBC interview about his friendship with the US financier.

Companies he has links with, such as BT and Barclays, have joined universities and charities in distancing themselves from him.

Answering questions about his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a BBC interview, Prince Andrew said the alleged incidents "never happened".

Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's accusers, claimed she was forced to have sex with the prince three times.

The prince said he was at home with his children on one of the occasions.

Prince Andrew, who is the Queen's third child, has been facing questions for several months over his ties to Epstein, a 66-year-old American financier who took his own life while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

During the meeting last Wednesday at Buckingham Palace, the Prime Minister and the Duke of York discussed issues of relevance for Papua New Guinea and the Commonwealth.

“Prince Andrew is clearly concerned by the recent Highlands earthquake and expressed his sympathies following the disaster,” the Prime Minister said from London.

“In almost all of our CHOGM-related meetings, for myself, the Foreign Minister, and senior officials, there was clear concern at the loss of life in the earthquake.