PRINCE Andrew had dinner with the Queen last night — as a bombshell lawsuit accused him of “rape in the first degree”.
The Duke of York, 61, left for Balmoral with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson hours before a US summons was sent to his Windsor home.
His accuser Virginia Giuffre’s lawyer last night warned a criminal probe could be opened into the royal’s alleged abuse of the then-17-year-old
David Boies, speaking exclusively to HOAR, said prosecutors began investigating Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell after civil claims against them.
Ms Giuffre’s lawsuit says she was “forced to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will” and lists offences including “rape in the first degree”.
A Balmoral source said of Her Majesty, faced with the fallout from Megxit and whose husband Philip died in April: “The Queen could do without this after the year she has had.
“Summer at Balmoral is a special time when the family come together, take stock, relax and recharge their batteries.
“But the first thing she is having to deal with is her 61-year-old son turning up on her doorstep with his ex-wife, hours after learning he is being sued for allegedly abusing a 17-year-old girl.
“It’s not the start to her first trip to Balmoral without the Duke of Edinburgh she would be expecting or deserves.
“This is yet another family scandal and casts a huge shadow over what should be a well-deserved break for the Queen. It reminds everyone of the infamous summer of 1992 when the Royal Family woke at Balmoral to photos of Fergie having her toes sucked by her financial adviser splashed across the papers.”
The lawsuit was filed in New York on Monday night. It is the first time the Duke has been named as a defendant in a civil case connected to billionaire paedophile Epstein.
‘Beyond all possible bounds of decency’
Ms Giuffre wants damages for “battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress”, arising from his alleged sex assaults on her when she was underage.
A civil summons to serve him with papers at the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park was approved by a court clerk last night. He has 21 days to respond or face “judgment by default”.
Prince Andrew was already on his way to Balmoral yesterday, arriving by car in the Scottish Highlands in time for dinner with the Queen, 95. However, Mr Boies, 80, warned he cannot “act as if he is above the law”.
Read our Prince Andrew live blog for the latest updates
The royal was previously accused of offering “zero co-operation” to an FBI probe into Epstein. Mr Boies told HOAR: “Criminal prosecutors might take a look. That is what happened with Epstein and Maxwell.”
British socialite Maxwell, 59, has now been charged with perjury as a result of statements she made in her civil tussle with Ms Giuffre. The American accuser previously settled a lawsuit with Epstein in 2009. She also reached an out-of-court agreement in a defamation claim against Maxwell in 2017.
In her lawsuit, lawyers for the mum of three say she was “lent out” by Epstein and his alleged madam Maxwell to “powerful men for sexual purposes”.
It says: “Twenty years ago, Prince Andrew’s wealth, power, position, and connections enabled him to abuse a frightened, vulnerable child with no one there to protect her.
“It is long past the time for him to be held to account. Prince Andrew’s actions . . . constitute extreme and outrageous conduct that shocks the conscience. Prince Andrew’s sexual abuse of a child who he knew was a sex-trafficking victim, and when he was approximately 40-years-old, goes beyond all possible bounds of decency.”
Ms Giuffre said: “I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me.”
Damage amounts under the 2019 New York Child Victims Act could run into the millions. Prince Andrew has strongly denied all of Ms Giuffre’s claims. His spokesman declined to comment last night.
Epstein killed himself on August 10, 2019 – exactly two years ago yesterday – while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell faces trial later this year on grooming charges.
