How the UK newspapers reacted to Prince Andrew's sex case settlement

Prince Andrew’s agreement to settle the civil sex assault claim against him dominated Wednesday’s newspaper front pages in the UK.

The Queen’s second son “regrets his association” with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a letter submitted to the US District Court stated.

The royal has agreed to make a “substantial donation” to his accuser Virginia Giuffre’s charity after the pair agreed an undisclosed out-of-court settlement in her civil sex claim against him.

No detail has been disclosed with regard to the settlement and costs, but it has been reported he has agreed to pay an eight-figure sum and there has been speculation the Queen might help with costs from her private funds.

The Daily Telegraph, whose headline reports the ‘Queen to help pay for £12m settlement’, reported that a deal was agreed at the weekend following at least 10 days of negotiations between the two sides.

The Sun headline their front page with ‘His final disgrace’, and reports that the deal was made so that the Queen’s 70th jubilee celebrations this year were not overshadowed by any details from the case.

Meanwhile, The Mirror says Andrew’s deal was done “under Queen and Charles’ orders”, while The Daily Mail described the settlement as a “humiliation” for Andrew in its main headline.'

Watch: Legal experts comment on Prince Andrew's case

The paper added that the “grovelling climbdown” now “slams the door on a royal return forever”.

The Express also said there was “no way back for Andrew“, while Metro headlined with “Duke pays up at last”.

The Duke of York is now facing a renewed call to give up one of his last remaining major titles after agreeing to settle the civil sex assault claim against him.

Andrew, whose status as a member of the royal family was left in tatters last month after the Queen stripped him of his honorary military roles and he gave up his HRH style, has been urged to show “respect” by now losing his dukedom.

Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on Tuesday’s legal development, while Andrew’s representatives also declined to say how the donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity would be funded.

Ms Giuffre, also known as Virginia Roberts, made a claim against Andrew for damages in her home country of the US, claiming she was trafficked by Epstein, Andrew’s friend, to have sex with the royal when she was 17, a minor under US law.

The settlement agreement states that Andrew will donate to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights and that he has pledged to “demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein” by supporting the “fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims”.

Although the parties have settled the case, the agreement is not an admission of guilt from the duke and he has always strenuously denied the allegations against him.

The settlement has come in the monarch’s historic Platinum Jubilee year, and gives the Royal Family the chance to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne at the national festivities in June without the threat of Andrew’s trial looming over them.