During a deposition for their high-profile New York court battle, Prince Andrew will be grilled for two days by his sex accuser Virginia Roberts’ lawyers.
According to sources close to the monarch, the Duke of York will meet with lawyers for Ms. Roberts on March 10 in London, where he will testify under oath.
‘On March 10, we agreed to voluntarily present the Duke for a deposition.’ ‘Ms. Giuffre has yet to agree to a date or location for her deposition, despite repeated requests,’ a source close to the Duke said on Saturday.
The announcement comes only one day before the Queen, Andrew’s mother, celebrates her Platinum Jubilee, which will mark her 70th year on the throne.
The Prince’s legal team in the United Kingdom is preparing him for a two-day grilling by David Boies, 80, one of America’s most well-known attorneys, and Sigrid McCawley.
Andrew will be questioned about three alleged assaults in 2001, after he was stripped of all of his military titles and royal peerages last month after the case was confirmed as heading to trial.
Ms. Roberts says in a civil complaint that she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions when she was 17 by paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Ms. Roberts’ legal team may also examine two witnesses based in the United Kingdom: Shukri Walker, who claims to have seen Andrew at London’s Tramp nightclub at the time of the incident, and Ms. Roberts’ legal team.
Mr. Boies is regarded as America’s “greatest deposition taker,” having negotiated or won nine multibillion-dollar settlements for clients. After the disputed 2000 election, he represented Presidential candidate Al Gore and worked to modify California law to legalize homosexual marriage.
Mr. Boies earlier stated that his client and legal team were looking forward to ‘confronting’ Andrew about his ‘denials and attempts to blame Ms. Giuffre for her own maltreatment’ during his deposition and trial.
The judge has set a timetable for Andrew’s deposition on July 28.
Mr. Boies said he ‘doesn’t think we’d need’ Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah, the Duchess of York, or his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Alexandra, if the case went to court.
The fact that her grandchildren will not be obliged to appear in court will be of little consolation to the Queen, as Andrew’s case is set to dominate headlines throughout her Platinum Jubilee, which will commemorate the 70th anniversary of her reign.
Prince Andrew filed 41 denials in Roberts’ case last month, rejecting all charges of impropriety.
The Duke insists he never met Ms. Roberts and stated last week that he ‘lacks sufficient knowledge to admit or deny’ whether a famous photograph of him with his arm around her waist taken in March 2001 ‘exists.’
He also indicated 40 times in his official response that he ‘lacks adequate knowledge to admit or deny’ other charges. He also demanded a jury trial.
Giuffre, now 38, claims she had sex with the prince when she was 17 and a minor under US law after meeting him through late US millionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison two years ago while awaiting a sex crime prosecution.
She claims Andrew sexually attacked her in March 2001 at Ghislaine Maxwell’s London house, who has been imprisoned in the United States for recruiting young girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.
During a visit to Epstein’s private island, the duke is also accused of sexually abusing Ms. Giuffre.
According to court documents filed last month, US Judge Lewis A Kaplan wrote letters to the Senior Master of the Queen’s Bench Division in the United Kingdom requesting assistance in obtaining evidence for Ms. Giuffre’s civil suit.
Mr. Olney was interrogated by the judge about Andrew’s conversations with Maxwell, Epstein, and Ms. Giuffre, as well as his visits to Epstein’s properties.
Judge Kaplan also asked Ms Walker to testify regarding the duke’s and Ms Giuffre’s appearance at Tramp nightclub in March 2001, as well as any contacts the two had, in a separate letter to the High Court.
The civil sex assault trial is set to begin in September and end in December. By July 28, the parties must confirm whether they want to go to trial.