Prince Andrew’s family faces grilling on pizza alibi

Sarah Ferguson and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie may be questioned about Andrew’s alibi for the night Virginia Giuffre says she first had sex with him.

Sarah Ferguson with Prince Andrew at Ascot in 2021. Picture: Getty Images.

The Duke of York is expected to learn in the coming days whether his daughters and former wife will face questioning from Virginia Giuffre’s lawyers.

Prince Andrew’s legal team will discover, possibly as early as today, which members of his family will be asked to give evidence under oath, a US legal process known as deposition.

David Boies, Giuffre’s lawyer, who has been nicknamed the grand inquisitor because of his skill at interviewing witnesses under oath, has already suggested that he could question Sarah, Duchess of York, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

They will likely be questioned about Andrew’s alibi for the night in 2001 that Giuffre says she first had sex with him in Ghislaine Maxwell’s London home.

In his BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, Andrew, 61, said that he was with the children that day because he remembered taking Beatrice to a party at the Pizza Express in Woking, Surrey.

A move to depose senior members of the royal family would heap more misery on the man ninth in line to the throne, who on Thursday was stripped of his military titles and patronages in a face-to-face meeting with the Queen. In a further humiliation, it was also decided that Andrew, who is said to be the Queen’s favourite son, would stop using the style of His Royal Highness in any official capacity.

Giuffre, 38, formerly Virginia Roberts, is suing Andrew in the US for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager and claims that she was trafficked by the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with the duke when she was 17, allegations Andrew denies.

Boies has said Giuffre is determined to take the case to a trial before a jury in New York this autumn, with depositions possibly taken this summer.

Andrew could avoid being interviewed under oath by simply ignoring the deposition request. However, this risks the judge ruling against him in his absence, branding him a sex abuser and ordering him to pay compensation.

Andrew could also avoid a trial by striking an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre, likely to be worth millions of pounds. However, even if she were willing to settle, Andrew’s legal team have made clear that he intends to fight the claims. It leaves the prince with mounting questions over how to fund an estimated legal bill of between pounds 5 million and pounds 6 million to contest the case.

Because he is now a private citizen, he is also facing having to pay for his own security. Damian Hinds, the security minister, did not confirm when asked yesterday (Friday) whether taxpayers would continue to fund the duke’s protection. Buckingham Palace said that this was a matter for the Metropolitan Police.

Yesterday (Friday) the Prince of Wales, who is said to have been heavily involved in discussions about Andrew’s future role in the family, brushed off a question about him when asked by a reporter.

On Wednesday Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York dismissed Andrew’s attempt to have the case thrown out. A source close to the duke said: “Given the robustness with which Judge Kaplan greeted our arguments, we are unsurprised by the ruling. However, it was not a judgment on the merits of Ms Giuffre’s allegations. This is a marathon not a sprint and the duke will continue to defend himself against these claims.”

It has been confirmed that Andrew will be expected to give his side of events in a statement under oath. He would do so in a deposition in which he would face up to seven hours of questioning from Boies. He is likely to make any statement in the presence of his legal team in London, rather than in the US.

The Woking Pizza Express where Prince Andrew claimedhe was with his daughter Beatrice on the night Virginia Roberts-Giuffre has alleged he was with her. Picture: Getty Images.

Giuffre’s lawyers said that the documents obtained under discovery – the process by which the two sides swap relevant documents – would remain confidential. They include medical records, bank details, tax returns, personal phone numbers and the names of alleged under-age victims of sexual abuse.

The risk of further humiliation in Britain loomed as politicians in York began a campaign for Andrew to give up his dukedom. Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, tweeted: “It’s untenable for the Duke of York to cling onto his title another day longer; this association with York must end. There’s a very serious allegation made against this man of privilege and entitlement.”

A source who knows Prince Charles said last night (Friday): “William is very aware of the reputational damage being done here, as is the Prince of Wales. They have been working much more together in the last year or so, forced partly by circumstances but also by design.

“Between them, they would have basically said to the Queen, ‘We’ve got to deal with this and deal with this now.’ It happened quicker than I thought it would. I thought it would be a few weeks in the making. But it landed very abruptly. I thought, that is decisiveness of the sort that is required. The simplicity and the clarity of it was quite striking.”

The Times