Will the Duke of York take the stand and what else can he do now?

Q

Are Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s allegations against Prince Andrew finally heading to a US courtroom?

A

Quite possibly. Ms Giuffre has claimed in legal papers filed in a New York civil court that the Duke of York sexually abused her 20 years ago on three separate occasions: in London, New York and the US Virgin Islands. Ms Giuffre alleges she was procured on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted paedophile who took his own life, a friend of the Duke.

Q

Will Prince Andrew take the stand in New York?

A

Unlikely. A crossexamination is unlikely to go well. The Duke’s performance on

Newsnight was one of the great car-crash interviews and a questioning by a skilled New York attorney risks a terrifying humiliation. A trip to the US also raises the possibility of the FBI bringing him in for questioning as part of its ongoing investigation into Epstein’s crimes.

Q

How can the Duke avoid court?

A

One option is to settle the case out of court but that is not a very welcoming prospect. Prince Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing and settling the case before it comes to court, while not acknowledging liability, would nevertheless seriously damage his reputation.

Q

Could he just ignore the legal claim?

A

One possible course of action is to do nothing and ignore any attempts by Ms Giuffre’s legal team to serve him with legal papers. But such a strategy risks a civil trial going ahead in the Duke’s absence and would hugely increase the chances of a judge finding in the claimant’s favour. Such a ruling would be catastrophic for the Duke because then a court would be officially labelling him a child sexual abuser.

Q

What else can the Duke do?

A

Lawyers suggest that he could try to force a switching of the case to the High Court in London, where they could try to have it struck out on grounds of lack of evidence. If that was unsuccessful, the Duke might also argue that he has some form of sovereign immunity.