Prince Andrew has returned to the Queen's Balmoral estate with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson to allegedly avoid further attempts to serve sexual assault papers at his mansion 500 miles away in Windsor, it was claimed today.
The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York travelled up to the safety of his mother's 50,000-acre Scottish estate where she is staying while on holiday, after they were seen leaving Royal Lodge in the Berkshire town yesterday.
It comes a month after Andrew visited Balmoral with Sarah on a previous visit which began on August 10, with their daughter Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank. It is not clear when they left on that occasion.
Andrew and Sarah divorced in 1996 but they have remained close since - and her recent multiple visits to Balmoral come five months after the death of Prince Philip, who was said to have regarded her as 'simply beyond the pale'.
Andrew has not yet responded to the bombshell lawsuit filed in a US court by Jeffrey Epstein's former sex slave Virginia Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts, who claims the Duke sexually abused her when she was 17.
Papers have not yet been served on Andrew or his lawyers despite 'multiple attempts' at Royal Lodge in the last fortnight, according to The Sun - and the Duke is now set to stay at the Queen's estate while the case is heard.
Andrew, 61, will have to be served in person with court papers including a copy of Ms Guiffre's complaint - which was filed on August 10 - under the Hague Convention international law treaty because he is a foreign citizen.
When the lawsuit was filed, her legal team were given 120 days to get Andrews the papers or his lawyers could try to get the case dismissed. Andrew would have 21 days to respond once the papers are officially served.
Under the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR), papers must be served on all defendants within 120 days after a civil complaint is filed at court - and the action can then be dismissed unless the plaintiff can 'show good cause for the delay'. This means Ms Guiffre's lawyers will have until December 8 to serve the papers on Andrew.
The civil suit is due to be heard via a telephone conference next Monday in Manhattan, New York. Ms Giuffre, now 38, claims she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times on the orders of paedophile financier Epstein.
She claims that the first time she was forced to have sex with Andrew was at the London townhouse of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's alleged madam. The second is claimed to have been at Epstein's mansion in New York.
The third incident was on Epstein's private island in the Caribbean, according to Ms Giuffre. Andrew has always vehemently denied having sex with Ms Giuffre, but has not yet publicly responded to the civil case.
Prince Andrew (left) arrives at Balmoral this morning with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson in the back of a Range Rover
Prince Andrew is pictured with Sarah Ferguson in the back seat of the Range Rover as they left Windsor yesterday
Sarah Ferguson is seen in the back of a Range Rover leaving Windsor yesterday en route to see the Queen in Balmoral
Previously: Andrew is seen arriving at Balmoral on August 10 with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson in the back of the Range Rover
The Queen during an inspection at the gates at Balmoral as she takes up summer residence at the Scottish castle on August 9
A source told the Sun: 'Andrew was going stir-crazy inside Royal Lodge for the past few weeks.
'He wasn't going horse riding and couldn't step outside because of attempts to serve him with the legal papers.
'He knows he is far safer up at Balmoral on the Queen's estate. Andrew is always described as the Queen's favourite son but she is meant to be on holiday at Balmoral.
'With Andrew and everything that is happening with Charles and the investigation into cash for honours she must be wondering when she will get any peace and quiet.'
The duke has stepped back from public duties 'for the foreseeable future' after his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein surfaced in 2019.
Ms Guiffre, 38, alleges that Epstein forced her to have sex with Andrew three times when she was aged 17.
Andrew has strenuously denied her claims that she was forced to have sex with him on Epstein's orders. He said he categorically did not have any sexual contact with her and does not even recall meeting her.
Last month it was claimed Andrew is considered a 'person of interest' in the US investigation into Epstein.
Prosecutors had wanted to interview the Queen's son about his friendship with Epstein as part of their inquiry into the sex offender and Ghislaine Maxwell.
It was always said investigators wished to speak to him only as a 'witness' in case he can throw any light on the crimes of Epstein, who killed himself in jail in 2019.
But last month a source told Reuters that he is being seen as a 'person of interest'.
One leading criminal defence attorney said that while the term does not have any formal meaning in the US, the fact the FBI were apparently using it about Andrew was 'not good'.
Mark Bederow, a New York criminal defence attorney, said: 'It means they are interested in knowing about his conduct and whether he knew that a potential crime has occurred.'
He added it does not mean that he would ever be charged, however.
Virginia Roberts, now Virginia Giuffre, was photographed with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell in London in 2001
Prince Charles and Camilla at Ballater Community and Heritage Hub in Aberdeenshire on August 31, near the Balmoral estate
By revealing their thinking at this stage, a week after Mrs Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit against him, it seems like 'publicity pressure mechanism', Mr Bederow said.
Virginia Roberts alleges that Jeffrey Epstein (above) forced her to have sex with Andrew three times when she was just 17
MailOnline contacted Andrew's press representative for a comment about the Sun's story today, but they replied: 'No comment.'
Ghislaine Maxwell is currently on remand in at Metropolitan Detention Centre (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York, awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, which she denies. She is due to go on trial in November.
Last month, prosecutors claimed she tried to barricade herself in a prison room, saying she created a security threat by using a cart of legal documents to block the door.
Her actions were said to have prevented guards from entering the video conference room. As a result, Maxwell was banned from bringing the cart in and was forced to carry materials from her cell to the conference room.
The British socialite has been at the prison since last July, when she was arrested for allegedly recruiting children for Epstein to abuse.
Virginia Giuffre (centre, in blue) in New York in 2019 with her lawyer David Boies for a hearing
Andrew has travelled with Sarah Ferguson to Balmoral Castle (file picture), with is the Queen's Scottish retreat
The Queen with her son Prince Andrew on the Buckingham Palace balcony in June 2019
Prince Charles awards a CBE to Saudi tycoon Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz at Buckingham Palace in November 2016
There have been disputes about her cell not being clean and allegations that she does not flush her toilet.
Maxwell's lawyer Bobbi Sternheim said her client never tried to block her door with the cart and stop the guards getting in.
The allegations against Andrew are not the only crisis unfolding for the Royal Family, as it has recently been claimed that the Prince of Wales was '100 per cent' behind an offer to help Saudi tycoon Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz secure UK citizenship.
Clarence House said Charles has 'no knowledge' of the cash for honours allegations on the basis of donation to his charities, denying allegations by a former fixer.
The claims by William Bortrick - a paid advisor to Dr bin Mahfouz, who is a major donor to Charles's charities - came as the Prince's former valet Michael Fawcett stepped down on a temporary basis as chief of the Prince's Foundation while investigations into the allegations take place.
A string of claims about 58-year-old Mr Fawcett's conduct while running the charity included the allegation that he had offered to 'support' Dr bin Mahfouz in his efforts to secure both a knighthood and British citizenship.
And new allegations about Charles's apparent involvement have emerged in a draft letter from Mr Bortrick to Dr bin Mahfouz, who donated more than £1.5million to Charles's charities.
A letter by Burke's Peerage publisher Mr Bortrick, which was drafted in May 2014 and revealed by The Times, said that Dr bin Mahfouz's application for citizenship would 'now take the highest priority'.
It added: 'His Royal Highness supports these applications 100 per cent, as there is no greater example of contribution [than] yours, therefore this should be rewarded and recognised accordingly.'
A spokesman for the prince said: 'The Prince of Wales has no knowledge of the alleged offer of honours or British citizenship on the basis of donation to his charities and fully supports the investigation now under way by The Prince's Foundation.'
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