Politics

Prince Andrew served with suit by Jeffrey Epstein accuser Giuffre in sex case, court filing says

Key Points
  • Prince Andrew of Britain has been served with a lawsuit filed by an American woman who accuses him of having sex with her when she was underage, and while she was being abused by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a new court filing revealed Friday.
  • Andrew, who is the Duke of York, was served with the civil suit filed by Virginia Giuffre on Aug. 27 in England, according to that filing. The document says the suit was left with a police officer on duty at the gates of the property occupied by Andrew.
Prince Andrew The Duke of York arrives at the Headquarters of CrossRail in Canary Wharf on March 7, 2011 in London, England.
Dan Kitwood | Getty Images

Prince Andrew of Britain was served with a lawsuit filed by an American woman who accuses him of having sex with her when she was underage, during the same time she also was being abused by his friend Jeffrey Epstein, a new court filing revealed Friday.

Andrew, who is the Duke of York, was served with the civil suit filed by Virginia Giuffre on Aug. 27 in England, according to that filing in Manhattan federal court.

The document, an affidavit by a process server engaged by Giuffre's legal team, says the suit was left with a police officer on duty at the gates of the Royal Lodge in Windsor, a property occupied by Andrew.

The affidavit said that when the process server tried to give Andrew the lawsuit a day earlier, a police officer told him that "security there had been instructed not to allow anyone" onto the grounds thee to serve the prince with the suit, or to accept service on his behalf.

On Aug. 27, the process server wrote that he was told that the suit could be left with a police officer at the Royal Lodge "and that this matter would then be forwarded on to the Legal Team."

A spokesperson for Andrew declined to comment.

Prince Andrew with Virginia Giuffre and Ghislain Maxwell.
Source: Attained through court documents.

The prince, who is the son of Queen Elizabeth, has denied Giuffre's allegations and says he does not recall even ever meeting her.

Andrew had been a friend of Epstein's for years.

A photo shows him with Giuffre years ago, as Epstein's former girlfriend and accused procurer stands smiling in the background.

Epstein, who also previously had been a friend of former Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, died in August 2019 in a Manhattan federal jail cell from what has officially been ruled a suicide by hanging.

NBC archive footage shows Trump partying with Jeffrey Epstein in 1992
VIDEO0:5800:58
NBC archive footage shows Trump partying with Jeffrey Epstein in 1992

At the time, the mysterious money manager was charged in federal court with trafficking dozens of underage girls so that he could sexually abuse them. Epstein had pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to soliciting sexual services from an underage girl.

Giuffre sued Andrew last month, claiming he had sexually assaulted her when she was 17 years old.

"I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me," she said.

"The powerful and rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions. I hope that other victims will see that it is possible not to live in silence and fear, but to reclaim one's life by speaking out and demanding justice."

Melania Trump, Prince Andrew, Gwendolyn Beck and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000.
Davidoff Studios | Getty Images

Maxwell is due to go on trial in Manhattan federal court in November on charges that she recruited underage girls to be abused by Epstein.

She has pleaded not guilty in that case and is being held without bail in a Brooklyn jail.