A “resilient” Prince Andrew is today poised to publicly reject any suggestion of wrongdoing following accusations about his contacts with an alleged under-age sex slave.
In an unprecedented move, the Duke of York is preparing to speak out to defend his name during a long-planned speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this evening.
Andrew, 54, is determined to demonstrate his “desire to push on with work and his resilience”.
The Evening Standard understands he had planned to speak out for the first time on the issue. But the woman at the centre of the under-age sex allegations, Virginia Roberts, has issued fresh documents repeating in her own words the allegations against him in US court papers.
She claims the prince had sex with her on three occasion when she was 17 — under-age in Florida, where the court papers have been filed — and wants him to deny her allegations under oath.
Buckingham Palace has repeatedly strenuously rejected claims the duke had any “sexual contact or relationship” with Miss Roberts.
Close sources say Andrew will discuss with lawyers whether to refer to the issue in his speech at 6.30 tonight.
Those close to him say the duke is determined to show he has not been too damaged by the affair by continuing with his work. He is in Switzerland in a private work capacity, not officially representing the Queen or working for the Government.
As he arrived in Davos today, most business leaders welcomed his appearance. But one said: “It is a bad call for him to be here. It is a distraction.”
Miss Roberts, 31, claims she was forced to have sex with the prince by his former friend, the billionaire convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein, who paid her to “service” his friends.
In new documents lodged at a US court, Miss Roberts, known legally as Jane Doe #3, attacked what she called the “false and hurtful” denials.
She claimed Andrew’s Scotland Yard protection officers left her alone with him the first time he had sex with her and that she was involved in an orgy with the prince and eight other girls.
Five photos were also submitted, including one which Miss Roberts said showed her aged 15, when she says she began working as a “sex slave” for Epstein.
It has also emerged that Miss Roberts’s lawyers last week sent a letter to “His Royal Highness The Duke of York” at Buckingham Palace, offering to interview him under oath about the allegations “at a time and place of your choosing”. But they said the courier had informed them the letter had been “refused by the recipient”.
The prince is not facing legal proceedings over the US claims. It is not known if he is covered by legal immunity as a royal but he could be entitled to diplomatic immunity against questioning because some claims relate to when he was a Whitehall-sanctioned envoy.
