Prince Andrew served with papers in US sexual assault lawsuit

Britain's Prince Andrew has been served legal papers in a US lawsuit brought by a woman who says he sexually abused her when she was a teenager, a court filing showed Friday.

The complaint was delivered to the royal's home in Windsor, England, on August 27, according to an affidavit filed in the Southern District of New York.

Virginia Giuffre says she was "lent out" for underage sex by late US financier Jeffrey Epstein who killed himself in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking minors.

Giuffre sued Andrew last month, alleging he sexually abused her at the London home of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago, when she was under 18.

Giuffre also claims Andrew abused her at Epstein's New York mansion and on Little St. James, Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands.

Andrew, 61, has vehemently denied claims he had sex with Giuffre, and said he has no recollection of meeting her, but the allegations have damaged the British royal family.

An agent for Giuffre said in the affidavit that he handed the papers to a police officer at the main gates of Andrew's property and did not meet Queen Elizabeth II's second son.

A spokesperson for Andrew refused to comment when asked to by AFP.

Andrew, a divorced father of two and former Royal Navy helicopter pilot who flew in the 1982 Falklands War against Argentina, was forced to step back from frontline royal duties in late 2019.

That followed a furore at a rare television interview he gave to the BBC, in which he defended his friendship with Epstein, a multi-million-dollar hedge fund manager who befriended countless celebrities.

Andrew -- who as a young man was considered one of Britain's most eligible bachelors and was dubbed "Randy Andy" in the tabloid press -- later issued a statement in which he said he "unequivocally" regretted his "ill-judged association" with Epstein.

He has made few public appearances since, although joined other senior royals for the funeral of his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Windsor Castle in April.

Maxwell pleaded not guilty in April to charges of recruiting underage girls for Epstein. She is due to go on trial on November 29.

Giuffre sued Andrew under the Child Victims Act as she was 17 at the time. The first hearing in the case is set for Monday.