Besieged at Balmoral: Prince Andrew is still with the Queen at her Scottish home where he was accused of ‘hiding’ from Virginia Roberts legal team… FIVE DAYS after the birth of his new granddaughter
- The Duke of York was driving in the grounds of his mother’s home in the Scottish Highlands this morning
- His lawyers on Tuesday finally accepted the papers filed by Miss Roberts’s legal team
- His eldest daughter Beatrice gave birth to her first child on Saturday but Andrew is yet to leave Balmoral
Besieged Prince Andrew remained at Balmoral today, two days after his legal team accepted that he has correctly been served with legal papers by his sex accuser Virginia Roberts.
The Duke of York was this morning pictured driving in the grounds of his mother the Queen’s Scottish estate, where he has been accused of ‘hiding’ in recent weeks.
His lawyers on Tuesday accepted the papers filed by Miss Roberts’s legal team following weeks of delay.
From when he received them, he had 21 days to respond to her accusations of both sexual assault and battery.
But Miss Roberts’s attorney, David Boies, told the Mail earlier this week that the the prince’s US lawyer, Andrew B Brettler, is expected to apply for a ‘reasonable’ extension to respond to the complaint – and said they would likely to agree to the request.
Andrew’s continued presence in Scotland means that he is yet to meet his new granddaughter.
His eldest daughter Beatrice gave birth to her first child on Saturday, Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Monday.
Besieged Prince Andrew remained at Balmoral today, two days after his legal team accepted that he has correctly been served with legal papers by his sex accuser Virginia Roberts. The Duke of York was this morning pictured driving in the grounds of his mother’s Scottish estate, where he has been accused of ‘hiding’ in recent weeks
The duke reportedly recently rescued a dog while attending a reception in an upper story of the castle, a source told The Times.
Andrew rushed to the aid of the small canine after it became excited at the sounds of royal security dogs barking in the grounds below and bolted towards an open window.
The duke reportedly swooped in and rescued it before it plunged to its doom.
His lawyers on Tuesday accepted the papers filed by Miss Roberts’s legal team following weeks of delay. He officially has 21 days to respond to her accusations of both sexual assault and battery. Above: Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts, aged 17 at Ghislaine Maxwell’s townhouse in London, Britain on March 13 2001
Sources told the Daily Mail that the duke intends to ‘come out fighting’ and use Miss Robert’s civil court claim to repudiate her accusations ‘point by point, claim by claim’ to clear his name.
A second preliminary hearing is set to take place in Manhattan on October 13. Andrew strongly denies the allegations.
Last week, his lawyer claimed that the legal papers had not been properly served in the UK after they were left with a policeman at the gate of his mansion at Windsor.
In a civil case, a claimant has to formally present legal papers to the other party to notify them of the action – a process that is known as a service of proceedings.
Earlier this week, Miss Robert’s legal team filed documents with a New York court saying they had sent papers to Mr Brettler in Los Angeles via a Fedex courier and an email officially notifying the prince of the case.
Andrew’s continued presence in Scotland means that he is yet to meet his new granddaughter
The filing also said that the High Court in London was informed. Mr Bois said: ‘Andrew’s counsel have agreed that service has been made.
‘Theoretically the clock is now ticking. However, it would be normal for them to ask for, and for us to agree to, a reasonable extension of time to respond to the complaint.’
The lawyer is considered to have ‘outwitted’ Andrew’s legal team at every turn.
Andrew has reportedly been urged to sack his London-based lawyers, who are led by Gary Bloxsome at Blackfords LLP.
Prince Andrew is seen with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson leaving Windsor on September 7
Miss Roberts’ legal team has been trying to serve Andrew with legal papers this month (pictured – they are left in a London postbox)
Concerns have been expressed about the stonewalling strategy of the team against the explosive allegations.
Virginia Roberts has accused the prince of having sex with her on three occasions when she was 17, knowing she had been trafficked by his close friend, the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew has strongly denied the accusations. But many in the prince’s circle are said to believe the attempts to play a dead bat to the allegations have been both a legal and a PR disaster, allowing Miss Roberts’s lawyers to outwit and outplay them at every turn.
Her solicitor David Boies has scathingly described their actions as a ‘game of hide and seek behind palace walls’.
Even the judge in the case, Lewis Kaplan, made clear his irritation at the delay tactics last week, telling the prince’s US attorney Andrew B Brettler: ‘Let’s cut out all the technicalities and get to the substance.’
But a source close to the Duke of York told the Daily Mail earlier this week: ‘Irrespective of media reports, the duke retains every confidence in his legal team and their strategy.’
Virginia Roberts accused the prince of having sex with her on three occasions when she was 17, knowing she had been trafficked by his close friend, the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein (pictured)
In a car-crash 2019 interview with the BBC, Andrew claimed he had no memory of ever meeting Roberts, now a 38-year-old mother-of-three who lives in Australia and goes by her married name, Virginia Giuffre.
A now-notorious photo, taken inside the London townhouse of Epstein’s alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell, shows Andrew smiling for the camera with his arm around Roberts’ waist while Maxwell stands in the background.
Beatrice’s good news, which comes only seven months after younger daughter Eugenie gave birth to her son August, has already been welcomed by Sarah, Duchess of York.
Andrew’s continued presence in Scotland means that he is yet to meet his new granddaughter. His eldest daughter Beatrice gave birth to her first child on Saturday, Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Monday
She is said to have returned from Balmoral last Friday and met her new grandchild over the weekend.
A friend of the duchess told the Mail: ‘She’s perfect and Sarah is absolutely smitten. She’s always very proud of both girls but to have two grandchildren in a year is a total joy.’
The friend suggested that Beatrice’s daughter might even have inherited her mother and grandmother’s flame-coloured locks, saying: ‘She’s got a hint of red… and a hint of gold.’
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