Prince Andrew, accused of alleged sexual abuse 0:51
(CNN) -
Queen Elizabeth was greeted Monday at her beloved Scottish estate, Balmoral Castle, for her annual summer sojourn with a ceremony complete with an honor guard and a Shetland pony. The trip should have been an opportunity for the monarch to relax after a difficult year in which her husband, Prince Philip passed away, and spend time with loved ones, who regularly visit the remote Victorian estate in the Dee Valley, in Scotland.
Instead, less than 24 hours before the start of the holiday, the British royal family was dragged back into a crisis when it emerged that Prince Andrew had been sued in New York by a woman who claims he was sexually abused. of the royal when he was 17 years old.
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The Story of the "Spare Heir" Facing a Sexual Abuse Lawsuit
This is not the first time a family member has faced legal action, says CNN historian and royal expert Kate Williams.
It notes that Prince Charles was sued by a law student in 1978 after an appearance in Ohio.
The student sued him for alleged deprivation of "various rights guaranteed by the (US) Constitution" (although the case was unsuccessful).
And in 2002, Princess Anne became the first member of the royal family to be convicted of a criminal offense, pleading guilty to an indictment because her dog bit two children in a park.
But those cases pale in comparison to allegations of sexual assault on a minor.
Andrés at his father's funeral in April.
Credits: Chris Jackson / Pool / AFP / Getty Images
Virginia Roberts Giuffre's allegations are not new, but it is the first time she has filed a civil lawsuit against the ninth in line to the British throne, seeking damages to be determined at trial.
A representative of the duke's legal team declined to comment on the new litigation on Tuesday, as did Buckingham Palace.
Virginia Giuffre files lawsuit against Prince Andrew alleging sexual abuse
Traditionally, the royal family has adopted the mantra of "never complain, never explain."
But that silence-based crisis management strategy may not be enough this time.
Over the years, Andrés has become a recurring character in the Jeffrey Epstein saga. As early as 2019, he sat down with the BBC to answer questions about his ties to the late disgraced financier and vigorously denied Giuffre's allegations, unequivocally saying it "never happened." These statements sparked a public relations crisis that he himself sparked.
That interview, conducted on the palace grounds, ignited a storm over Andres' apparent lack of sympathy for Epstein's alleged victims.
The disastrous interview resulted in the effective exile of the prince from his royal duties.
In a statement at the time, Andrés said he was retiring "for the foreseeable future" and promised "to assist any appropriate law enforcement agency in their investigations, if required."
Since then, Andrés has stayed away from the public scene and has chosen to take refuge in his royal residence in Windsor.
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Despite his public promise to help officials investigating the alleged sex ring that Epstein and his associates once operated, U.S. officials say otherwise. In January 2020, then-New York Southern District Attorney Geoffrey Berman claimed the prince, saying he had "provided zero cooperation." Giuffre's attorneys also say that Andrés' legal team has been "blocking" his efforts to obtain information for the past year, leaving litigation as the only course of action, leading us to where we are today.
Andres' options at this point are not at all clear.
According to Melissa Murray, a professor of law at New York University, if Andrés' legal team decides not to appear in the civil lawsuit, he could expose himself to a direct trial and a possible claim for damages.
"What (Giuffre) is looking for here is not his imprisonment, it is not a guilty plea, it is not a criminal proceeding. It is simply a civil suit to obtain compensation for damages," explains Murray.
Civil cases of this type rarely make it to the jury trial phase, Murray says, and instead more commonly resolved through summary trial or an out-of-court settlement, the latter could be a problem for royalty.
"He has stated that he had nothing to do with her ... so any effort to come to terms at this point would appear to be a statement that there is some truth to his allegations," Murray explains.
It should be noted that Andrés has never faced criminal charges.
But Murray notes that if the case were allowed to go ahead, it could expose royalty to greater scrutiny.
"Allowing this to go ahead, to be discovered, to have statements taken, evidence to be presented, means that anything that comes up in this civil lawsuit and is made public can serve as the basis for filing criminal charges against him, or anyone else. another person whose name comes out in this particular dispute, "he says.
"He has a lot of general exposure and things to think about right now."
The Queen and Prince Andrew travel together to a church service on August 11, 2019, the day after Epstein died of suicide.
Credits: Duncan McGlynn / Getty Images
Whichever way the court filing plays out, there's also the public relations nightmare the family must navigate now, with actual commentators and legal experts suggesting there may be no turning back for Andres.
Nigel Cawthorne, author of "Prince Andrew: Epstein and the Palace," says there appears to be little recourse for the duke to return to public office.
"It is very difficult to see how he can return to the front line of the monarchy, as he has expressed his wish, with this pending lawsuit or if a court rules against him by absence."
Alex McCready, head of reputation and privacy at London-based law firm Vardags, which specializes in handling the cases of high-profile clients, agrees that the consequences of the lawsuit could damage the family's reputation.
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"A 'ignore the problem and wait for it' approach by the royal family will inevitably draw criticism from many quarters," he says.
"Whichever path Prince Andrew chooses, he has already done significant damage to his own reputation and possibly to the royal family in general, which will be difficult to mitigate."
Difficult, but not impossible, according to Amber Melville-Brown, head of media and reputation at the international law firm Withers.
"As Prince Charles told host and writer Jeremy Paxman, the royal family is, after all, a soap opera. But if that's the case, the series is not going to be canceled anytime soon," says Melville-Brown.
"The monarchy is more than the sum of its family parts. Despite the attack on reputation, it is a series that will not be canceled, even in today's cancellation culture."
The queen meets Princes Charles and Andrew during a 2019 Buckingham Palace flyby.
Credit: Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty Images
And he adds: "There is no 'secret sauce' of reputation rehabilitation that suits all tastes. Acceptance, regret, responsibility are some of the ingredients, dignity, empathy and positivity others, while keep doing the work is a key element. "
And that's where the queen stands out, because everything she has done throughout her long reign has been in the service of her dominions.
Despite this crisis, there is no evidence that the monarch's reputation has been tarnished by the scandal yet.
But in the era of #MeToo and in the midst of a global reckoning over race, authority and privilege, that could change and Andrés will no doubt be aware of the importance of his next moves.
CNN's Ivana Kottasová, Nina dos Santos and Ghazi Balkiz contributed to this report.
British royal family Prince Andrew