ANDREW COULD LOSE DUKE TITLE
Charity positions under threat too if case is lost
PRINCE Andrew could be asked to stop using the title Duke of York if he loses a sexual assault lawsuit brought by a victim of Jeffrey Epstein.
Royal courtiers are also believed to be considering plans for the prince to give up his remaining links to charities.
Yesterday, it emerged that the Queen’s son continued to socialise with disgraced Ghislaine Maxwell long after her boyfriend Epstein first came to police attention.
The Duke even sat directly opposite the sex trafficker at her birthday celebrations at London’s Dorchester Hotel, more than two years after he travelled to New York to sever ties with paedophile billionaire Epstein.
Tomorrow, a New York court will hear from lawyers representing Virginia Giuffre, 38, who claims Andrew sexually abused her three times.
While she is seeking damages, Andrew’s lawyers will try to have Ms Giuffre’s case thrown out.
They claim that a deal agreed between her and Epstein in 2009 protects his associates from civil proceedings.
Lawyers for Ms Giuffre say six witnesses will testify that they saw Andrew with her.
Maxwell remains in New York’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Centre awaiting sentence after being found guilty last week.
A jury convicted her of five out of six charges of recruiting and trafficking young girls. Her lawyers believe it will be at least five months before she is sentenced.
It is believed the 60-year-old will die in prison even if she gets considerably less than the maximum 65-year sentence.
During her trial, a series of witnesses placed the Prince with Ms Giuffre, including a pilot who said he flew them on Epstein’s jet, dubbed the Lolita Express.
Another woman claims she saw the pair at Tramp nightclub in London on March 10, 2001, when Ms Giuffre claims she was first forced to have sex with him.
The Duke vehemently denies Ms Giuffre’s claims and says he does not recall meeting her.
Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah was spotted in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier on the weekend, relaxing with her daughters Eugenie and Beatrice and their husbands.