The Duke of York will “likely” join Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on the list of royals who will be refused entry to the King’s Coronation in May, it has been claimed, after reports claimed he is bracing for a new legal battle in the US. Prince Andrew is reportedly plotting to overturn the multimillion-pound settlement reached with a woman who accused him of sexual assault several years ago, and even force an apology, reports say. The Duke of York lost his HRH title in January of last year after Virginia Giuffre, a victim of late millionaire Jeffrey Epstein, accused him of sexual abuse.
The Duke is now hoping to reopen the case in a bid to get his titles back.
But the latest “legal shenanigans” could be the last straw for the Royal Family who will “likely” try to keep the Duke away from the King’s Coronation, former civil servant Jill Rutter said.
She told Times Radio: “I would have thought the Royal Family didn’t want the Platinum Jubilee overshadowed by this and won’t want the Coronation overshadowed by more legal shenanigans from Prince Andrew.
“I think they’ll tell him to shut up and go away.”
If the allegations are confirmed, Andrew could face his accuser Ms Giuffre in court again.
Ms Giuffre claims that the banker and imprisoned socialite Ghislaine Maxwell compelled her to have sex with Andrew when she was just 17 years old. Andrew has since consistently and vehemently pushed back against the allegations.
The prince and Ms Giuffre came to an out-of-court agreement in February which included damages and a gift to her organisation “in favour of victims’ rights” totalling almost £3million.
But Andrew and his legal team are now examining legal options after Ms Giuffre’s sex abuse case against prominent US attorney Alan Dershowitz was dismissed and fresh remarks from Ms Maxwell surfaced, according to The Sun.
READ MORE: Ghislaine Maxwell claims infamous Prince Andrew photo is ‘fake’
Andrew is reportedly hoping to have Ms Giuffre’s claim thrown out so he can resume his royal duties.
Ms Maxwell, the daughter of disgraced media mogul Robert Maxwell, who was sentenced last year for child sex trafficking in connection with Mr Epstein, also paid Ms Giuffre millions in a separate lawsuit in 2017.
The convicted child sex trafficker has come out of the shadows of her Florida prison and questioned the authenticity of a picture that came to symbolise Virginia Giuffre’s sexual abuse allegations against Prince Andrew.
Maxwell, who appears in the infamous 2001 photograph alongside the then-17-year-old Giuffre as Andrew holds her semi-bare waist, said in a video interview from prison: “I don’t believe it’s real for a second.”
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