Prince Andrew’s lawyers snub hearing into sex claims

If Andrew rejects lawsuit and declines to participate, he risks court finding against him for child sex abuse and ordering damages.

Prince Andrew. Picture: Lindsey Parnaby / AFP

The Duke of York’s lawyers will not attend a hearing in the sex assault claim filed against him in New York on Monday, The Times understands, amid growing criticism of his apparent failure to engage in the case.

The pre-trial conference in the US comes as the two sides argue over whether the prince was properly served with a court summons.

Lawyers for Virginia Giuffre, who alleges Andrew sexually assaulted her when she was 17, a charge that he vehemently denies, say the papers were handed over to a Metropolitan police officer on duty at the main gates of his home in Windsor last month.

However, Blackfords, a law firm that represents Andrew, has attempted to cast doubt on whether the court papers were properly served and signalled an intent to challenge the court’s jurisdiction, according to a letter referenced in court documents filed by Giuffre’s lawyers.

“We reiterate that our client reserves all his rights, including to contest the jurisdiction of the US courts (including on the basis of potentially defective service),” Andrew’s lawyers wrote.

The duke held a shooting party at the Queen’s Balmoral estate on Saturday with guests including the crown prince of Bahrain, according to The Sun on Sunday. A royal source told the paper that the party was “tone deaf”.

On August 26, a “corporate investigator” named Cesar Sepulveda travelled to Windsor and tried and failed to serve the court papers at Royal Lodge, Andrew’s home, after police were unable to locate a senior member of the duke’s staff. The following day Sepulveda returned to the property and left the documents with police.

Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts at Ghislaine Maxwell's townhouse in London, Britain on March 13, 2001 Picture: Florida Southern District Court/Supplied

A copy of both the summons and the complaint were also emailed to Andrew’s Royal Household office email address and sent to his lawyers by email and FedEx. They were also sent to his Windsor home by first-class post.

Whether or not the papers were properly delivered will be determined by a US judge. Monday’s hearing, presided over by Judge Lewis Kaplan of the US district court for the Southern District of New York, marks the start of a highly public and damaging legal process in which Andrew’s accuser will eventually give evidence under oath.

The duke will not be represented at the hearing. His UK lawyers oppose participating on the grounds that doing so would amount to accepting US jurisdiction in the case.

Giuffre, now 38, a longtime accuser of Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, is seeking unspecified damages against Andrew for sexual assault and emotional distress. The duke denies all the allegations against him.

If Andrew rejects the lawsuit out of hand and declines to participate, he runs the risk of the court finding against him for child sex abuse and ordering him to pay damages.

If he decides to contest it in court, he faces years of damaging headlines as the case meanders through the legal system.

The Times