Virginia Giuffre has filed a lawsuit in New York against Prince Andrew of England, who she claims abused her when she was a minor.
It has been a game of cat and mouse for the last few weeks. Since Virginia Roberts Giuffre filed a complaint for sexual abuse against Prince Andrew in a New York court on August 10, Elizabeth II's son has tried at all costs to avoid formal notification. He even left his usual stay in Windsor to go, with his ex-wife, Sarah Fergusson, to Balmoral Castle, in Scotland, where the queen continues to enjoy her summer holidays.
Virginia Giuffre accuses the Duke of York of abusing her in 2001, when she was a minor (17 years old), in the London apartment of Ghislaine Maxwell, currently in prison and who allegedly acted then as a procurer of "sex slaves" for the millionaire American pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
Giuffre refers in his complaint to two encounters with Prince Andrew, in London and at Epstein's apartment in New York.
The second son of Elizabeth II has emphatically denied this accusation, to the point of ensuring that he does not remember having personally met the woman.
There is, however, a photo taken in Maxwell's same London apartment in which he sees the prince grabbing a young Giuffre by the waist.
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The documents registered in the US court that is handling the case indicate that the formal notification of the complaint was made on August 27.
A judicial agent delivered the document at 9:30 a.m. that day (10:30 a.m. Spanish time) to one of the Metropolitan Police officers who guarded the Royal Lodge in Windsor, the premises where the Dukes of York reside.
The day before, according to the account deposited in court, the policemen had refused to receive the notification.
From this moment on, the judicial deadlines are set in motion.
Andrés has until September 17 to respond to the notification.
It is, however, a civil lawsuit seeking financial compensation.
It is not a criminal procedure promoted by the US Prosecutor's Office, with which the prince's legal team can choose not to respond, and prevent his client from embarking on a litigation that would further damage his image in the public opinion.
Giuffre could go ahead with his accusation, and even obtain a conviction that entails fixing the amount to be paid.
In that case, Prince Andrew should think twice before traveling to the United States, because he could be subject to a forced execution order.
The lawsuit filed by Giuffre uses extremely harsh terms to accuse the son of Elizabeth II. She claims that she was “forced, under direct and express threats from Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew, to perform sexual acts with Prince Andrew, to the point of fearing death, physical harm or other repercussions against him if he disobeyed, that all three had powerful connections, wealth and authority, ”the legal document says.
Although the queen has gestures of affection towards the one who, according to what has always been understood, is the son she has the most affection for, Buckingham Palace has taken a stark distance from Andrés' legal problems. Any official or extra-official comment in this regard has been avoided, to refer at all times the queries to the legal team or the public relations office that has assumed the representation of the Duke of York. The response of the office to the latest information, once the judicial notification arrived in Windsor, has been: "No comment."