Prince Andrew 'Hiding in Royal Mansion' as Lawyers Scramble to Serve Rape Lawsuit on Him: Report

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claims she was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s “sex trafficking” ring, filed a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew this month, alleging that the Queen’s second son raped her at the age of 17, when she was a “frightened and vulnerable child”.

Prince Andrew is believed to be hiding at his mansion at Royal Lodge, as his security guards have stopped “multiple attempts” by lawyers to serve a rape lawsuit on him, The Sun exclusively reported.

The Duke of York was last seen in public some three weeks ago, when he arrived at his mother’s Balmoral estate in Scotland for summer holidays in the company of his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

The trip came just a day after it was revealed that Virginia Roberts Giuffre had filed a lawsuit in the US to accuse the duke of raping her at the age of 17 while she was “lent out for sexual purposes” by Jeffrey Epstein.

It is believed that Andrew’s trip lasted just 10 days and he returned back to Windsor Great Park on 20 August – however, it cannot be confirmed, as he has not been photographed in public since the beginning of the month. British media outlets were also apparently warned by the Queen’s legal team against taking photos of the royal family while Andrew was at Balmoral.

Sources told The Sun that the royal is now “in hiding” at his home, not willing to accept the civil summons from lawyers.

“There’s no way he will risk poking his head outside right now. He will stay out of view”, the insider claims.

It is believed that there will be “more attempts” to hand the legal papers to the duke, but if he refuses to accept them in the end, a “judgement by default” might be anticipated.

A spokesman for Prince Andrew has refused to comment on the report, as the Queen’s son had repeatedly dismissed Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s allegations in the past.

In a scandalous BBC interview that cost him his reputation over his refusal to regret his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew said that he had “no recollection” of ever meeting Roberts Giuffre. He also claimed that there was a chance that a photo purportedly showing them together - with Andrew’s hand around the girl’s waist and Ghislaine Maxwell in the background - could have been doctored.

In November 2019, shortly after the interview went on air, Prince Andrew announced that he would be stepping back from his public duties for the “foreseeable future”.