Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson join Queen at Balmoral
Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have travelled to stay with the Queen at Balmoral Castle.
The Duke of York, who is the subject of a sexual abuse lawsuit filed last month, was pictured in the Daily Mail driving a Range Rover into the Royal Family’s private estate in Scotland on Wednesday with the Duchess of York in the backseat.
The Queen is currently on holiday at Balmoral Castle, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
Andrew and Sarah also visited the Queen there last month, 24 hours after Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit against the duke for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was under 18.
The Duke of York has previously “categorically” denied he sexually abused Giuffre.
Giuffre claimed she was trafficked by Prince Andrew’s former friend Jeffrey Epstein – a convicted sex offender – to have sex with the royal when she was aged 17, two decades ago.
It is alleged Giuffre, then known as Virginia Roberts, was sexually abused by Andrew at locations including Epstein’s ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell’s home in London, Epstein’s New York mansion and Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands.
The Duke of York is the only defendant named in the 15-page suit, with Epstein and Maxwell also mentioned.
The lawsuit was filed at a federal court in New York but legal experts have said the Duke of York will not be compelled to attend in person or give evidence.
Andrew stepped back from royal duties almost two years ago after being widely criticised for a BBC Newsnight interview in which he denied a series of accusations about Giuffre.
Sarah divorced Andrew in 1996 but has stuck by him since the accusations arose.
Last month, she described him as a “thoroughly good man” during an interview for ITV’s Lorraine.
She said: “It’s been extraordinary the pandemic for everybody, it’s been so challenging for everybody. But I think that Prince Andrew is such a good man, he’s a thoroughly good man, he’s a very gentle man, he’s a really good father.”
The former couple share two children, Beatrice and Eugenie, and a grandchild.
