Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew agree to a deal that will end her lawsuit

Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew agree to a deal that will end her lawsuit²

Transcript³

Britain's Prince Andrew has settled out of court with Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexual assault on three occasions when she was 17 years old.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Britain's Prince Andrew has settled out of court with Virginia Giuffre, the woman who had accused the Duke of York of sexual assault on three occasions when she was 17 years old. As Willem Marx reports, the duke's legal team had spent months fighting to avoid this U.S. civil case in and out of court.

WILLEM MARX, BYLINE⁴: In some ways, this is a very public story that starts with a private photo. The image in question shows Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth, grinning at the camera with his arm around a much younger woman. Behind them smiles Ghislaine Maxwell, a long-time companion of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. She was recently convicted of luring⁵ teenage girls into sexual abuse. The young woman shown was 17-year-old Virginia Roberts, now 38-year-old Virginia Giuffre, who's long said Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her as part of a pattern of abuse instigated⁶ and abetted⁷ by Epstein and Maxwell. Andrew has repeatedly denied those allegations. But after a 2019 BBC interview where he struggled to explain clearly the circumstances around Giuffre's claims, he stepped back from his public duties as a member of Britain's royal family.

Then last year, Giuffre launched a civil lawsuit accusing the prince of sexual assault on three occasions - in London, New York and the U.S. Virgin¹ Islands. He was stripped of several royal privileges and hunkered down with lawyers, issuing statements that called her lawsuit baseless and frivolous⁸. But after a New York judge ruled the suit could proceed, fears in Britain grew that Andrew could embarrass his mother and other royal relatives.

ED OWENS: The wider House of Windsor would have been extremely concerned that, had this gone to court, uncomfortable questions would have been asked of Andrew, which would have probably been responded to with very, very uncomfortable answers, as well.

MARX: Ed Owens is an historian and the author of a book called "The Family Firm" about the British royal family, the British public and mass media.

OWENS: The British royal family will certainly be hoping that this enables them to move past, if you like, this moment of scandal. And yet, nevertheless, you know, the great weakness of monarchy⁹ is that it's made up of personalities¹⁰. And the personality in question, and who I think will remain a problem to some extent, is that of Prince Andrew.

MARX: In the settlement agreed between the two sides, Andrew acknowledged Giuffre's bravery as a victim of abuse and called attacks against her unfair. He will donate an undisclosed sum to a charity of her choice focused on victims' rights to, quote, "demonstrate his regret" for his friendship with Epstein. But the damage to his reputation and his family may make it hard for him to resume any meaningful role in the public eye ever again.

1 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

2 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 luring   

吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Cheese is very good for luring a mouse into a trap. 奶酪是引诱老鼠上钩的极好的东西。
• Her training warned her of peril and of the wrong, subtle, mysterious, luring. 她的教养警告她：有危险，要出错儿，这是微妙、神秘而又诱人的。

6 instigated   

v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government has instigated a programme of economic reform. 政府已实施了经济改革方案。
• He instigated the revolt. 他策动了这次叛乱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 abetted   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• He was abetted in the deception by his wife. 他行骗是受了妻子的怂恿。
• They aided and abetted in getting the police to catch the thief. 他们协助警察抓住了小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 frivolous   

adj.轻薄的；轻率的

参考例句：

• This is a frivolous way of attacking the problem.这是一种轻率敷衍的处理问题的方式。
• He spent a lot of his money on frivolous things.他在一些无聊的事上花了好多钱。

9 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

10 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。