LAWYERS PLAN AMBUSH WHILE ANDREW RIDES
PRINCE Andrew’s movements are being tracked by US lawyers intent on serving him court papers – in person.
Legal staff were waiting for him to go on a regular horse ride at Windsor Palace hours before sex abuse accusations were filed against him in New York.
They hoped to hand him the documents before news broke of the Manhattan move by accuser Virginia Giuffre’s team of lawyers.
But Andrew, 61 – who strongly denies sexual assault allegations, saying he has no recollection of ever meeting Virginia – had left to join the Queen at Balmoral.
A source said: “Virginia’s lawyers are under no illusions how difficult it is to get alongside the prince. They’ve been trying to speak to him for five years.
“Processors were on the ground on Monday when the papers were filed in Manhattan hoping to hand them to him if he went out on his horse. He could be at Balmoral for months without coming out.”
Mum-ofthree Virginia, 38, is suing the Prince claiming she was loaned out to him at 17 by his paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein and the billionaire’s alleged “recruiter” Ghislaine Maxwell in 2001. Under the Hague Convention, Virginia’s team must present the papers to Andrew in person.
They now have 120 days to get them into his hands or his lawyers could press for the case to be dismissed. Once officially served, he will have 21 days to respond to the accusations.
Virginia’s lawyer David Boies confirmed they are trying to serve the lawsuit by hand, adding: “We’ll present a copy of the complaint in a formal way. He is a foreign citizen so we must do this under the Hague Convention.” The civil suit’s first hearing will be on September 13 when Virginia’s lawyers must tell the judge if Andrew has the papers.
She accuses him of sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress after allegedly being forced to have sex with him in London, New York and on Epstein’s Caribbean island.
In late 2019, the prince told a BBC Newsnight interview he had never had sex with her, insisting: “It didn’t happen.”
Virginia, now in Australia, wants compensation and punitive damages which could be more than £14million.
If the Prince is not served by December 7, legal experts warn the case may collapse. US civil litigation lawyer Spencer Kuvin, who represents several Epstein victims, said Andrew’s team could try to dismiss the allegations on grounds, including diplomatic immunity as he was a trade envoy at the time.
Bid to serve papers but he was off to see Queen
Now he could be at Balmoral for months without coming out SOURCE ON MISSED CHANCE TO HAND PRINCE LAWSUIT