He is being sued by Virginia Giuffre who says he sexually assaulted her when she was just 17
The Duke of York, Prince Andrew, is being sued by an alleged victim of sexual assault and is set to be served the papers in person. Do people with this kind of reputation get their titles taken away or do we all just have to go on as if he isn’t obviously a very dodgy bloke?
He is being sued in the United States by Virginia Giuffre – formerly Virginia Roberts – who claims she was raped by the royal when she was a minor in the US as part of the alleged sex trafficking activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell has reportedly said she is willing to give evidence in court regarding the case too.
Ms Giuffre, who was 17 at the time of the alleged sexual abuse, said she “feared death” if she disobeyed her captors. Now 38, she is taking to Prince Andrew to court and forcing him out of seclusion to pick up the papers in person. While the Royal Family had remained largely quiet on the issue, it is now believed that the Queen is underwriting her son’s legal bills.
The Sunday Times is reporting that Prince Andrew’s legal bills are being underwritten by the Queen (via her private Duchy of Lancaster estate) and Palace aides believe there are “inconsistencies” in the Duke’s account of his dealings with Virginia Giuffre.https://t.co/HC6MxOeH8H
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) August 15, 2021
As reported in the Independent, Prince Charles also said that his brother will never return to public life because of the “spectre” of his links to convicted sex offender Epstein and trafficking ring. A source close to Charles said he believed that even if the case against Andrew fails, the “reputational damage” he has caused the family means there is “no way back”.
David Boies, Giuffre told The Telegraph: “We present him with a copy of the complaint in a formal way”, adding that “Because he is a foreign citizen, we have to do this under the Hague Convention.”
Boies accused Prince Andrew of “stonewalling” Ms Giuffre’s legal team earlier this week, as well stating to Channel 4 that it would be an “ill-advised” move for anyone to “thumb their nose at a federal court”.
He went on to say that “They have refused to provide any explanation; they refuse to engage in any discussions.” Andrew is currently staying at Balmoral Castle and a number of royals have been pictured arriving at the residence amid the case.
Related links
- Video of Prince Andrew at Epstein’s house goes viral again amid abuse allegations
- Ghislaine Maxwell pictured with ‘black eye’ in first photo from prison
- Royal family accused of double standards over investigating Meghan claims but not Prince Andrew
