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Prince Andrew with his alleged victim Virginia Giuffre (undated photo)
Photo: HANDOUT/AFP
Britain's Prince Andrew wants to face a jury trial in the lawsuit over abuse allegations.
This emerges from a document that his lawyers filed in court in New York on Wednesday.
This is Andrew's formal response to the lawsuit brought by the American Virginia Giuffre, which US legal expert Neama Rahmani said was to be expected.
An out-of-court settlement is not ruled out.
Plaintiff Virginia Giuffre accuses Andrew of having repeatedly sexually abused her when she was a minor around 20 years ago.
She claims to have previously been a victim of an abuse ring set up by Andrew's former friend Jeffrey Epstein and his ex-partner Ghislaine Maxwell.
Andrew categorically denies all allegations.
The document, filed in federal court in Manhattan, lists 11 reasons why the lawsuit should be dismissed.
The 61-year-old had recently failed in his attempt to stop the civil lawsuit with an application.
The Queen had stripped her second eldest son of all military ranks and patronage after demands from the military, clearly distancing herself from him.
He also has to do without the salutation »Royal Highness«.
Buckingham Palace announced in mid-January that Andrew would defend himself in the US process as a private citizen and would no longer take on any public royal duties.
If there is a civil trial, it could take place this year.
There are no official criminal investigations against Andrew.
But the damage to his reputation - and that of the royal family - is already considerable.
At the end of 2019, Andrew resigned from his public duties for the Royals.
Organizations that he had served as a patron, row after row, distanced themselves from him.
He had previously tried to justify himself in a BBC interview – but the shot backfired.
His explanations sounded implausible and only made the situation worse.
sol/dpa